"My Mother? Let me tell you about my Mother"
-Leon (Blade Runner)
I haven't done a "for real" escapade in a while. With Facebook, Twitter and the other social media outlets out there, I kind of stopped feeling the need to update this after each event, since I was updating Facebook live during most events. But I will try to start doing this page again.
My mom passed away today. She had been in the Hospital since yesterday for a procedure. The surgery was a success, but today, while in recovery her heart went into arrhythmia and after hours of CPR, she was gone.
My mother was a strange person, which I guess is what explains a lot about me! She hated kids, but still became a Den Mother for my Cub Scout troop! Sometimes came off as a bit mean, but she had a big heart and was very warm to people who were close to her.
She was a first generation Italian. Her parents were off the boat from Italy and she grew up here in NYC.
She had once told me a story about how her mother had brought home a live chicken. My mom took it as a pet and fed it and played with it and loved it. One day her mother gave all the kids (my mom had 4 sisters and 2 brothers) money to go to the movies. Even back then, it was a lot of money and a very out of character move for my grandmother. They went to the movies and when they got back, dinner was on the table. As they ate, my mom looked around for her chicken, and when she asked where it was, her sister yelled out, "What do you think you're eating?!?!".
My parents were divorced when I was 4. I lived with my mom, but spent most weekends with my mom. I was a "latchkey kid". And my mom was a single mother, doing the best she could. I owe my love of model kit building to her. She would go out of her way once a week to go to a toy shop and bring me home a model kit. They were crappy 1970's dinosaur kits, or occasionally a Spider-Man. I'm sure they would be worth money now! But I would slap them together in 10 minutes and usually not even bother painting them. They looked horrible, but I loved them.
She loved my crazy dog. She even wore a shirt that said "Ask me about my Granddog". And my dog loved her. If you even said "grandma" around Belle, her ears would perk up and she would get all excited!
Once when I went away on vacation, I left Belle with my mom for almost 2 weeks. When I got back, Belle was almost round. She had gotten SOOOOO fat! I asked my mom how much she had been feeding her and she showed me. It was twice what I would normally give her, so I told her that. She said it shouldn't have made that much of a difference, since she only fed her twice a day! So basically, Belle was getting 4x the normal amount of food she was used to. Plus treats, plus table scraps for almost 2 weeks. So "Grandma" equals "non-stop buffet" to her. And boy did she love her little foodie vacations!
There are so many stories I can put in here, but I'll keep it short.
This past weekend we had a Family night in Atlantic City. It was great having so many family members together, hanging out, having dinner, playing the slots and shooting craps together! I will cherish that as one of the last memories I have of my mom. When we got back to her apartment on Sunday I installed a Microwave Stand for her that she had been asking me to get for her for at least 2 years. I finally got around to getting one and putting it together for her. I hope she got to use it once that night, because she went into the hospital for her surgery the next morning and never left.
Life is incredibly short. There are so many things I wish I had said to her when she was still here. I will miss her every day.
I love you, mom.
