FAMILY FROM OUR WEDDING

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

SHE SURVIVED and a SOFT GOODBYE

YEP she being me.. the weekend went well.. Mom enjoyed the dinner and her special donation to our synagogue.. .. If any of you have a Village Tavern in your neighborhood or town ... check it out!
We had a great dinner, I opted for the spinach salad with dressing on the side.. and I had green beans ( YUMMY) and I had to have some garlic mashed potatoes Sara shared them with me.. and we shared a small piece of cake too.. that was really sweet, I got to have both things I wanted with out being too wasteful.. Sara taught me an interesting trick.. Once you are done eating the amount you want, dump water on it so you wont sit there mindlessly eating things.. So I had my portion of the potatoes she had a portion and the rest she dumped water on.. we took a slice of Birthday cake , I had 4 bites, she had a few bites and then I dumped water on the rest of our slice of cake. I thought that was pretty novel..
I planted one tomato plant Sunday morning.. I am going to let Steve do the other two because where he wants them planted the earth is rocky so its hard to dig it up.. my hands had blisters on them by the time I had just planted one plant.. so that was enough digging for me... and I even managed to get 98% of the laundry done too so that made me pretty happy .. not to mention I cleaned out a closet and I found the letter from Harvey Korman I had been looking for too.. that letter is 26 years old.. It made me smile to read it again.. I need to do something to protect it.. I think I am going to get some of those plastic sleeves and put the letter in there to protect it.
Steve was out of town over the weekend he came home last night.. He went to New Orleans for the IDDBA show.. that's the International Dairy, Deli, Bakery Association show.. take a gander at this Steve said the show is HUGE about 3 city blocks in one room.. Everything you can imagine is being displayed.. from

to

to and more. ohhhh and lets not forget the cake decorating contest ...

. Certainly not a healthy eaters paradise... Steve said it really is amazing when you see all the food out there that we consume. He said there are good choices there but just seeing the sweets and meats and cheeses and artisan breads is truly sensory overload at its best or worst .. depending on how you look at it...
Well its a average Tuesday .. Eating is going well.. things are for the moment quiet.. and that my friends is how I like it!!!!
Late last night my mom left me a message on my cell phone.. that phone is right by my bed I guess I was too pooped to hear it.. or I might have been sitting on the steps waiting for Steve to come up.. watching our pups anxiously nudge at the the door with wagging tails for their dad to open it so they could greet him with all their wild exuberance...Last night my oldest sister's Mother in Law passed away.. She was a sweet woman..though I did not know her well.. I would see her and her husband ( who is still living) from time to time at various family functions. . She died last night .. she was 88.. She was truly a southern gem. During WWII she worked for our country working at various agencies to support our soldiers. Most of her life was spent in a small town in S.C. raising a family and helping her husband run a clothing store... which is still there and running quietly in this southern town. My brother in law , I am sure is devastated.. anyone who has their parents and is well into their 50s is so lucky.. I hope he knows that.. and he had both parents..up until last night..
Death is an odd thing.. not all deaths are tragic.. When you witness a loved one suffering to the end as in the case of my cousins seeing their mom die back in august. That death was tragic, when you lose a loved one in an auto accident , as I lost my father.. that is tragic... but when a life is well lived as in the case of my grandmother who was 95 when she passed away... that is a celebration of life.. sad.. but its a quiet goodbye.. as is the death of this woman.. who will be deeply missed by my sister, her husband , his sibling, my niece and countless others..
Though not able to attend she knew her youngest grand daughter graduated from Pharmacy school 2 weeks ago.. She was at the beach a week or so ago.. not doing well but still knowing where she was ... and then.. last night.. she was in the hospital...and around 11 30 or so... there was soft goodbye.. I can only hope that they celebrate her life.. and the wonderful things she did..rather than focus on the sadness.. her life was a life well lived in a small southern town... though the last several years were hard due to her declining health . In the last few days.. she was not feeling well.. and making comments letting others know she knew the end was close by... I wish all the family peace and may they be comforted by the blanket of warm memories always..

Welcoming comittee at my office this morning:


Wish me well
Wish you well too..

5 comments:

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

I'm so glad the dinner for your mother went well! And you even got to have cake! LOL

It's sad about your sister's MIL, but as you said, a life well lived is to be celebrated.

Anonymous said...

I too try to share some of the less healthy choices with others. D and I always share dessert, if we can't resist having it.
Great idea.

Dairy, Deli, Bakery association... I should not go to that show ;) Definitely.

88 is a nice age!
You're right, not all deaths are tragic. Some are a relief even, when you see a loved one suffering unnecessarily and there is no hope for recovery for example.

Mouthy Girl said...

Hooray for you! I'm glad that your birthday dinner for your mom went well! VERY good times!

Steve's trade show almost made me gain 15lbs. Sheesh!

I think I'd end up knoshing on cheese and bread the entire time. Yum!

Girl of True Heart said...

I am not sure water would do it for me. I would be like "eh...its only water...." Perhaps coffee...that would ruin it for me. A good trick I will try it out sometime!

Ranaesheart said...

Love the water thing, great idea! Thanks for sharing! :]

Your gentle goodbye to a fine southern lady was quite poignant. You are right, not all deaths are tragic. Some are bittersweet in that you would not bring them back to suffer ... yet the pain of no longer being able to talk or touch remains.