Proverbs 31
It has already been a few weeks since my mom moved into her ‘forever home’ in the arms of Jesus on December 13 at age 89 and a half. How can I put into a blog what took my 70 years to live out? I can’t!
What I will attempt to do is a condensed version of who she was, and the impact she had on so many. Actually, I don’t think I even understood her impact on others until I watched as she was bedridden in the last week of her life. I called many people to tell them it was time to come see her before it was too late. Many did, and here are some of their comments;
“Betty was always the first to volunteer when we had an event at the church. She was the fastest pirogi pincher we ever had!”
From friends of my nieces; “she always made us feel welcome at her home and pool”
“She made the most beautiful draperies, altar cloths and Afghan’s!”
As she grew older, we began to see a slowing down and deterioration in her memory and her agility. I think we went into a state of denial! This was the tough Russian lady that did not allow anything to stop her. Surely age was not going to rule over her! One hospice nurse described it this way, ‘we are each given a certain amount of battery power. We choose how we will use our power, but it doesn’t matter if we keep our light on during daylight or at night to see better, the battery power will eventually wear out!” Profound!
My mom was only 17 when she married my dad. She did not graduate from high school, but she did have a talent for sewing-with speed and accuracy! She was able to get a job in virtually any factory she wanted because of her skill. My dad wanted to get a better job than he had and was offered a job at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stanford Connecticut. Soon the newly-weds were leaving the homes they lived in all their lives, to trek to parts unknown. They did have family there already, so a path was forged for them.
They lived on the 3 third floor of the apartment building that mom’s brother-in-law owned. This made it very comfortable for them since they were not alone in this new state as newly marrieds!
Soon, the happy news came to them…a baby was on the way! While my mom was so far away from her mom, she was able to have her older sister there who already had 2 children. This was a great help for my mom. Since she was a sewist, and they were on a tight budget, she made most of my clothes, or she got them handed down from my older cousin, Carol. Mom would painstakingly polish my white high-top baby shoes daily when I was napping. She was a stickler for details!
While I was enjoying being the ‘center of attention’ of both my parents, it was not long before my brother came along. Up to this point I had been my dad’s carpenter assistant, but when Steve was old enough, I lost my position and had to return to the kitchen and sewing room! Good thing he was so cute!
Life was good for us in Connecticut. I took ballet class, Steve played with trucks, and we both enjoyed having cousins close to play with, or Aunt and Uncle to watch us. Soon, however, Steve had 1 too many trucks, and I had too many dolls. We moved into a bigger apartment-on the second floor. It was across the street from a shopping center called, ‘Shoppers Fair”. That is where I told people I lived…hey, I was only 4! Shoppers Fair was an American discount department store chain founded in 1956 in Bridgeport, CN. It went out of business in 1975, the year I got married.
When my mom was carrying me, her father passed away. When she returned to Pennsylvania for his funeral she had to wear a ribbon around her finger to ‘ward of the evil spirits’ from her baby (me). Wierd!
Since my Baba still had children at home, she was able to manage living in the old homestead, but when the last child got married and left, she was not able to care for the house alone. She did not work, barely spoke English (she was Russian), and did not drive! My mom was deemed the child that would return home to live with her mom, bringing along her husband and 2 children, of course. Here is where everything changed in our world!
This will continue on another day! Please return soon.
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