Remembering Mom 2021
Mom just wanted to touch base with you. Hope you are getting these memories and thoughts from your family. We all miss you and frequently think of you and the good times, but this day is an opportunity for your family to get together and remember you.
It has been a crazy year due to the worldwide COVID 19 Pandemic. I never thought I would see the entire US economy shut down for several weeks, but it died last summer in 2020. The streets were almost empty as the US government issued a stay-at-home order to try and stop the spread of the COVID-19 disease. It is now Feb 28, 2021 and almost one year later and things are just begging to return to normal. The entire world came together to fight the pandemic and there have been major medical breakthrough with a new type of vaccine development process that allowed shortened the development time, but there is a need of 7+ billion people to be inoculated and this will take some time before this virus is fully / mostly eradicated. A sad historical note: the US death toll recently passed 500,000 due to the pandemic, a historic moment in this country's history. Fortunately, our immediate family has been mostly spared the virus, Jerry, Rose, Amanda contracted the virus and fought it off and we hope and pray they are fully recovered soon. The rest of the family has been following the health guidelines of wearing the Mask over Nose and mouth when in public and trying to maintain 6 feet social distance from others. We are beginning to see the end of this tragedy and look forward to each of us receiving the vaccine and return to normalcy here in the US this summer.
Your Grandchildren Rachel and Dan are doing great. Rachel/ Ben and Johnny/ Ethan recently moved to Colorado Springs and have a lovely home close to Pike Peak and Jeanie, and I look forward to our visits to resume soon. Dan is working in the film industry in Los Angeles and enjoying his successful career in the audio recording Movie/TV industry.
In 2019 I had open heart surgery to repair a valve. Having to think about how you had similar surgery about the same age brings tears to my eyes as I know how tough that is to go through and only wish I could have been there more for you during that time.
I was able to retire from Honeywell March of 2020, a little later than I had planned but really am enjoying being retired and after 40+ years at Honeywell don't miss work one bit! Thanks for all you did for me to enable me to have a successful life, and enjoy my brothers/ sisters, marriage, career, children & grandchildren!
Rachel asked me to work on documenting some memories now that I am retired, she arranged a StoryWorth website to capture stories from my childhood, last week topic was:
What was your Mom like when you were a child?
In short …. Mom was a " Mom's Mom" , the female equivalent of a Man's Man! She was about family, God & Country and…. what will the neighbors think!
Family was her life, raising and taking care of 6 children who were often sparing with each other emotionally and physically, she was the official household referee. When she had time she would sing, play piano or the organ or read newspapers and Readers Digest magazines. She always put her kids first, weather that was time, health, emotionally or financially. She was remarkably close with her family, mother/father, aunts, uncles and brothers and sisters this gave us kids a strong sense of family. She was a good cook and enjoyed baking occasionally. Traditional Irish Soda Bread and German Bread were often special treats enjoyed by all of us. Mom was thoughtful, considerate and kind to all and encouraged us to be the same. Later in life when I was a teenager she was engaged with my friends and welcomed them into our family like her own children.
When we went on Motorhome trips she would read the AAA TripTik that provided historical facts and information along our route to wherever we were going. Mom would bust out a tune whenever/wherever she felt the urge, often at the Piano in the basement while doing laundry or at the Organ in the living room after dinner. A few songs I recall singing along with Mom Yellow Bird, How Much is that Doggy in the window, John Jacob Jingle-Heimer-Smidt and other Sound of Music tunes. Mom was very proficient in shorthand writing (method of taking dictation with symbols rather than letters) and at the time was a skill very much in demand. Mom was a great had great vocabulary and a good speller who took a keen interest in the Latin root meaning of words. She worked as a secretary at the Ford Executive offices and even worked for the local FBI.
Every Morning she would see us kids off to school with a Kiss and "Study Hard" reminder. Other Mom sayings I recall are "Just do your Best" and "Study Hard" and God sees everything so you don't need to brag about any good deeds you may have done or do the right thing even if nobody is watching! Other comments I would also hear from Mom was "Fun comes to Harm" when the Boys were wrestling or roughhousing as she would call it around the house.
Mom or Kathy short for Kathleen AKA "Kadiddlehopper" as my dad sometimes referred to her put her family first and gave all of herself to raising a family.
Love Jimmy.
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