Today we celebrated Mama's ninety-sixth birthday. The gathering at Parkview Retirement Community included Mama's niece and her husband, we three daughters and our spouses, all but the eldest of the seven grandchildren, and six out of eight of the great grandchildren. It was quite a lively group with six children ages five and under. It … Continue reading 96 Years: A Life Well Lived
family ties
Family Ties: Someone’s Favorite
I've been decorating my home for Christmas and I keep finding special things that remind me of my Aunt Polly: an engraved ornament, my blue porcelain angels, woodland birds. On Saturday evenings when my husband and I watch movies, I work on my crewel embroidery pillow and remember how she taught me the stitches when … Continue reading Family Ties: Someone’s Favorite
Celebrating a Life
Today I'm remembering a solo journey I took back in 2009 to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My desire was to visit the place that had been significant for my mother. She and her cousin, Yvonne traveled there by train when they were both nineteen to prepare for work in WWII as civil servants. Throughout my childhood, Mama … Continue reading Celebrating a Life
Second Chance to Know You
It was 1966 and he was home on leave for Thanksgiving. My cousin, Danny and my Grandma Smith hold his fresh catch from her farm pond. He'd just completed boot camp and was ready to serve on the USS Cacapon docked in Long Beach, California. I was an eleven-year-old kid looking up to my twenty-two-year … Continue reading Second Chance to Know You
Distant Cousins
As I grow older, with time passing rapidly and the future pressing in, I feel a need to reconnect with my extended family. It’s like I want a second chance to know them. Since my mother and father were both from families of eight children, I have lots of cousins. One cousin I’ve wanted to … Continue reading Distant Cousins
