Thursday, July 14, 2022
Memories of Mom
In my formative years, Mom sang all the time, tunes like “You Are My Sunshine”. I remember crying because I didn’t look like her. Her tall stature, hourglass figure, beautiful white skin, stunning blue eyes and thick curly golden blond hair made me think she was a model. She could have been a Grace Kelly. Mom taught me to garden. We had a cabbage competition and mine was best. Mom and Dad shopped once a month. They’d get each of us something and put it on our bed pillow as a surprise when we got home from school. Mom sewed without a pattern. I was fond of my burgundy corduroy jumper and satin blouse. She also made a dance outfit in preparation for a tap dancing class.
Her sister, my Auntie Anna arrived by taxi and her visits meant polka dancing and cheerful chatter deep into the night.
Summers were hot and humid - no air conditioning in our house. She’d sit by my bedside with a magazine or cardboard and fan me until I fell asleep. Mom did it all: mowed lawns, trimmed bushes, painted interior & exterior of the house besides being a homemaker. She cooked authentic Polish dishes without recipes. Pies and strudel as well as her frosted Christmas cutout cookies were always a treat.
I delivered The Patriot News for 4 years. Mom would help place the inserts into the center of the Sunday newspapers. She’d have dinner waiting when I got home from working at Holy Spirit Hospital; sitting with me while I ate and telling me stories of her youth. I taught her to drive. She suddenly stopped the car on Locust Lane in the middle of the street. What are you doing, I alarmed? She was letting a driver stopped at a cross street to have the right-of-way.
My Mom - beautiful.
