May 10, 2008 11:53 pm
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It’s tough to be parent-less at any age. As time passes, we all remember snippets of life from the past. As a child, I recall my parents bringing out the movie projector and hanging a white sheet on the living room wall that would become the screen on which to play the same family films over and over again. Each time we saw the movie with mom’s sister (Aunt Dot) and her husband Pat at their swimming pool, we would anticipated dad’s usual ploy. After Uncle Pat jumped in the pool, dad would play the film in reverse so Uncle Pat would be jumping out of the pool onto the diving board and the splash of water would miraculously be sucked back under the water surface. We would laugh every time as if it were the first time we saw it. It was very much like when families get together and repeat the same stories over again at the dinner table, enforcing the family bond.
We have a special day coming up; our daughter Rachel, the youngest of mom’s grandchildren, is getting married this summer. It’s too bad she won’t be there to share the day. (Well maybe she will be in spirit.) She passed away in 1999.
As I think about the shower and wedding, I flash back to when mom used to make flowers out of tissues for decorations. I haven’t seen those used in years. We decorated with them for our wedding shower and reception nearly 30 years ago. We’d take two or three pieces of various colored or plain white tissues and stack them one on top of the other. Then, we’d scrunch the tissue pile in the center, put a twist tie around the middle, peal back each layer and end up with a colorful, soft puffy flower. Several flowers could be bunched together and they’d make a festive bouquet.
OK, so that was not too many years after the TV Guide Christmas tree phase. We’d angle-fold the pages of a TV Guide, stand the book up and it would (supposedly) resemble the shape of a Christmas tree, then spray paint the pages gold or silver. Voila, another cheesy decoration! The point is, back in the day, she would have loved to use her creative flair to help prepare for the festivities.
Flash again — When the kids were younger, some Mother’s Days, we would treat our parents to a brunch or early dinner at various restaurants in the area and finish the day with a lazy afternoon walk by the canal (weather permitting) and a visit to a local ice cream stand.
More recently, I fondly remember a dear friend who welcomed my family into their home several times for a Mother’s Day brunch prepared by her husband and his sister Barbara. They would fry several pounds of bacon and cook enough eggs and pancakes to feed an army. The rest of us would bring a coffee cake or similar dish to share. Each year more friends tagged along with family members until it nearly grew into a standing room only event. Sadly, Barbara passed away last year and the Mother’s Day brunch has become just a fond memory for all of us.
The plan this Mother’s Day is to spend the weekend in Olean helping paint and do whatever is needed to get the house comfortable for our daughter and future son-in-law to live in. Why are we spending Mother’s Day weekend busting our butts? Because that’s what moms do. It’s the makings of future snippets of Mother’s Day memories. Happy Mother’s Day moms!
Deb Drinkwalter is a Lockport resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Send comments to d.drinkwalter@yahoo.com.
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