Mom I am thinking about you today and missing you. I think about having moved so far away from you as an adult and I know by doing that I missed out on so much and now it is too late. That makes me so sad. I think about how you pushed me to get a career and even though I didn't stick to nursing you taught me the importance of being independent, which has helped me so much in my life. I love and miss you so much Mom.
Mom, I feel bad that I haven't been to this site before. I guess I have just felt so overwhelmed with Keara's death and then yours.
I have so many memories of you going back to when I was a little girl. I even remember sitting in my highchair and you trying to get me to eat by pretending the spoon was an airplane. I remember the stories you used to tell. some were the typical stories kids hear but there were a lot that you made up and those were the ones I loved the most. Some were stories that grandma had told you and I loved those too. I remember when I found Susie our new puppy sitting on the table eating the pies you had made for Christmas and how you wanted to get rid of her but we didn't and fell in love. I remember all the parakeets we had and how much time you spent teaching them to talk. You loved animals except my alligater which you put outside to "sun" in Nov. and he died. I remember how you let our guinea pig Jeanette sit on the counter and you would give her treats from the refrigerator. She would whistle every time the door opened because she knew you would give her a treat. I remember the wonderful meals you cooked and how much time and care you took to make sure we were fed well. Sometimes too well for me!! I remember when I became a teenager and we fought about everything. I didn't like or appreciate you very much then but of course I found out as we do that you were wise and I wished that I had listened more. You wanted to protect me but of course I thought I knew everything at that time. I remember how we always had Thanksgiving at our house and how everything was so good. I remember you whistling songs around the house and I tried but couldn't whistle at all. Grandma lived with us from the time I was ten and I remember her teaching you to cook a lot of the traditional Jewish foods. I remember chicken noodle soup, toast and tea when I was sick.
As an adult I didn't get to see you much because I moved away but we did visit some and talked a lot on the phone. We became friends. I have the pillow you gave me that says A daughter is just a little girl who grows up to be a friend. That is so true.
I am grateful that I got to spend so much time with you in the monts before you died. I am glad Justin and Tori got a chance to know their great grandma. You were so kind to me when I would come to visit you and I would cry over Keara. You would hold my hand and tell me to let it out. Even in the midst of your illness you could still be mommy. I love and miss you so much and there are many days I wish I still had my mommy here to talk to. I hope you grandma,grandpa, Keara, and Tom are together and at peace. I love you.
I remember the summer Wayne and I went to visit Grandma & Grandpa when I was 10 years old. They took us into the city. We went to the Statue of Liberty. We found a bag on a bench that had film in it. Grandma carried it around Liberty Island the whole time we were there thinking someone might claim it. When no one did she took the film and receipt to Cheap John's back at home and got a refund!
That same day we saw a festival going on near the World Trade Centers so we went to walk through it. After a few minutes Grandma realized it was a Gay Pride Festival and was hysterical laughing. She told everyone how she took her grandchildren from Arkansas to a gay pride festival. She just got the biggest kick out of that!
