My story....part two

Oh my. This picture makes me laugh out loud. Other Sissy is the rather dramatic one, looking like she's singing an aria. I'm the disgusted one, hiding behind my hands. 

And my mom is the absolutely beautiful woman in the periwinkle dress. 

I have a very hard time looking at photos of my mom without crying. I miss her so.

She died when I was twenty five, just becoming a woman myself. But she had been sick for a long time before that. We never got to know each other as women, or as wives, or as mothers. She's been gone so long now that I don't reach for the phone to call her, or think "Oh, I have to tell Mom that." But the hole is still there. Even after all these years.

Part of me is missing. And always will be. 


Go find your mom and give her a big hug. And a kiss. And tell her you love her. 


It's important.

I don't even know where to begin with this one. That run going up my leg is atrocious. My poor mother. She could dress us up but she couldn't take us out.

Do you ever say that? "I can dress you up but I can't take you out!" We said that a lot in my family. 

But I still like this photo. It's one of my favorites. Me and my Nan. We share the same birthday. I always felt a special bond with her. That's just because she made you feel that way. I bet if you ask any of her grandchildren they'll tell you the same thing. "Oh, Nan? Yeah, we have such a special bond."

But I do.

Really.

I'm sure she made that crocheted vest I'm wearing. She is an extreme crocheter. Even now, at age...well, never mind. She won't like me broadcasting her age all over the place. Let's just say she's seasoned. But she still crochets up a storm for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and friends and neighbors.

I love this woman to pieces.

She doesn't live close. In the winters she flies south and in the summer she's about ninety minutes away. I try to see her a couple times each summer. Last summer I asked her if I could get some photos of the two of us holding hands, with our wedding bands showing.

Her bands are worn thin but still oh-so-pretty on her hand. My grampa died within months of my mom's passing so he's not here anymore either. But if he were, they would be celebrating over seventy years of marriage. 

Her rings have never come off her hand. Not even when she was having her babies. She insisted they stay on.

I love her hands. She has such strong hands. None of that frail stuff for her. 

This photo was taken at my bridal shower and it's not a good picture of any of us. But I treasure it. It makes my heart smile even while it hurts.

My mom and the Man's mom - my lovely and loved mother-in-law. Two of the women I have loved the most in my life. My mom wasn't with us too much longer after this photo was taken, just a few months. She made it to my wedding in October and died on New Year's Eve.

All I see is the pain in her eyes. And her brave smile. She was gracious and happy that day and I am so thankful that she was able to be there. Because she wasn't around for my sissies. They got married after. After she was gone. I wish she had been there.

So there's some more of my story. Small pockets of time, even the not so good times.

I want to remember it all.

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On a much lighter note, I was watching "From Here to Eternity" tonight while I was posting. And heard the funniest line.

Female : "Nobody's ever kissed me like that."

Male : "Nobody? Out of all the men who have kissed you?"

Female : "How many do you think there have been?"

Male : "I don't know. Can you give me a rough estimate?"

Female : "Not without an adding machine."

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And because I really want you to leave this blog feeling happy, I'm posting a video of a great remake of Herman's Hermits "I'm Into Something Good". 

I heard this version while I was meandering around a gift shop up North this past fall. And finally remembered to buy it on iTunes.