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What can we do for our moms year-round? Give of ourselves, show love

Edith Lentsch looks through some of the framed photographs of her grandchildren and great grandchildren in her Huber Heights home.

Teesha McClam/Dayton Daily News Edith Lentsch looks through some of the framed photographs of her grandchildren and great grandchildren in her Huber Heights home.

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Edith Lentsch sits in her living room with some her children, grand children and great grandchildren after a big Italian dinner in her home in Huber Heights.

Teesha McClam/Dayton Daily News Edith Lentsch sits in her living room with some her children, grand children and great grandchildren after a big Italian dinner in her home in Huber Heights.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Meredith Moss, Staff Writer Updated 7:28 PM Thursday, May 6, 2010

HUBER HEIGHTS — If you’re contemplating what to give mom or grandma on Mother’s Day, take some advice from Edith Lentsch.

“I’m not into flowers, all I want from my kids is love,” says the 85-year-old mother of 16.

The Huber Heights woman, who grew up with nine siblings in a close Italian family in Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills, has 35 grandchildren. She’s not quite sure how many great-grandchildren there are.

But she’s quite certain about the love.

“My kids do love me,” Lentsch says confidently. “They come and visit me all the time.”

Regular visits are just one of the many ways family members let her know they care.

“They do so much for me and they don’t ask for a penny,” says Lentsch. Although she’s never driven a car, her “kids” take her everywhere she needs — or wants — to go.

“They do anything that needs to be done around the house,” Lentsch explains. “One son and his wife put a new roof on my garage, my other son comes and fixes the lights or telephone problems, my daughter comes several times a month to help me pay the bills. She also goes to the grocery, knows exactly what I want, and always adds about 50 other things to the basket. My other daughter takes me every Wednesday to get my hair done.”

Daughter-in-law Carol Freudenberg of West Milton takes her mother-in-law to brunch after the hair appointment.

Once you’re family, she says, you’re family — welcomed and included.

Son Rick Freudenberg says his mother keeps the family together just by being herself. “She has a way of drawing people to her.”

Out-of-town relatives receive a hand-written letter from Lentsch once a week. She’s proud to show off the fancy laminated sheet that lists everyone’s birthday and anniversary, a gift from her son. Two other treasured gifts came in the form of interviews her grandchildren conducted with her about her life — one for the school paper, one for a class.

“She got an A-plus on the paper, they said she had a wonderful grandmother,” Lentsch says proudly. “It makes you feel good and honored.”

Her love, for both the six children from her first marriage and the ten she gained when she remarried after her husband’s death, is obvious.

“I dated him for a while before he told me he had ten kids,” she chuckles.

She still invites her whole family for holidays and still makes recipes handed down from her mother — spaghetti sauce, meatballs, homemade barbecue. Eating isn’t an option.

“What you don’t eat, you gotta take home,” she tells them.

When everyone comes for Easter, each child gets a giant chocolate bunny or Hershey bar with a dollar bill tucked inside. And there’s a giant family reunion every Fourth of July.

“My kids do not come in my house without kissing me hello or goodbye,” Lentsch says proudly. “Every one of them.”

Mother’s Day advice on mothering from Edith Lentsch?

“The secret of having a close family is just love them,” she says. “You gotta let them know you love them and are always there for them.”

“You want to see my trophies?” she asks. “They’re all up on my wall. They are my grandchildren’s pictures.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or MMoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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