Paul's Mother....
Today, August 14, Paul's Mother would have been 75 years old. Can you believe that? I can't even imagine Paul's Mother as a 75 year old woman. This was Paul's Mother at 69 years old. I couldn't even imagine her at that age, but she was exactly who she was, it's the one gift she gave to us. Embrace your insanity! She gave it to us so it's only right she showed us how to embrace it.
At our last family gathering/reunion one of her brothers turned to me with a huge smile on his face and said, "You're a brat just like my sister was." I take great pride in that comment. Which is funny, because there were many times I didn't want to be just like Paul's Mother. In fact, it scared me to be compared to her. She was haunted in her life and you could see it in her eyes. But she was also loved and had a great capacity for love. She absolutely loved her grandchildren. She loved spending time with them making puzzles, baking, playing cards and just listening to them talk to her about their lives. When we first moved to New Hampshire my son would call her and talk for hours. This is before unlimited long distance so our bills were huge, but totally worth it. They talked about everything, watched television shows together, baseball and football games and just generally hung out. My daughter would call and talk to her for hours about things at school, gossip of the day and life in general. They have great memories of their Nana and the time they spent with her. We have pictures of them all finger painting when they were little. I'm not sure who was covered in finger paint more, her or the kids.
I also have great memories of Paul's Mother. Coming home from school to her fresh baked pita bread or delicious peanut butter cookies. That woman could bake like no one I ever met, something my daughter obviously inherited from her because I don't bake. It's too messy. I don't like messy. I also remember her reading me the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, my favorite story as a child. Even as an adult, I could pull out that book and say," Mommie will you read to me?" She would, she'd let my lay my head in her lap like I did as a kid and she'd read it to me. I inherited that book and some day, when Lana-Rose is a little older, I will read it to her. She is a huge part of the reason I love to read as much as I do. Reading was always encouraged.
While there are ways I don't want to be like Paul's Mother, I can say now, in all honesty, there are ways in which I consider myself blessed to be compared to her. Being a brat like her, totally one of them!
Love you Mommie... mean it!
~Forever in our hearts~
My Mommie and her Daddy. The smiles are real!!
At our last family gathering/reunion one of her brothers turned to me with a huge smile on his face and said, "You're a brat just like my sister was." I take great pride in that comment. Which is funny, because there were many times I didn't want to be just like Paul's Mother. In fact, it scared me to be compared to her. She was haunted in her life and you could see it in her eyes. But she was also loved and had a great capacity for love. She absolutely loved her grandchildren. She loved spending time with them making puzzles, baking, playing cards and just listening to them talk to her about their lives. When we first moved to New Hampshire my son would call her and talk for hours. This is before unlimited long distance so our bills were huge, but totally worth it. They talked about everything, watched television shows together, baseball and football games and just generally hung out. My daughter would call and talk to her for hours about things at school, gossip of the day and life in general. They have great memories of their Nana and the time they spent with her. We have pictures of them all finger painting when they were little. I'm not sure who was covered in finger paint more, her or the kids.
I also have great memories of Paul's Mother. Coming home from school to her fresh baked pita bread or delicious peanut butter cookies. That woman could bake like no one I ever met, something my daughter obviously inherited from her because I don't bake. It's too messy. I don't like messy. I also remember her reading me the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, my favorite story as a child. Even as an adult, I could pull out that book and say," Mommie will you read to me?" She would, she'd let my lay my head in her lap like I did as a kid and she'd read it to me. I inherited that book and some day, when Lana-Rose is a little older, I will read it to her. She is a huge part of the reason I love to read as much as I do. Reading was always encouraged.
While there are ways I don't want to be like Paul's Mother, I can say now, in all honesty, there are ways in which I consider myself blessed to be compared to her. Being a brat like her, totally one of them!
Love you Mommie... mean it!
~Forever in our hearts~
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