Mom

 

Mom

She has dementia or so they said, I wonder if it wasn’t the after effects of COVID-19. She wasn’t herself because of course she had no visitors. To me she always seemed to thrive with family around. She wasn’t thriving, according to the doctor’s test, she was experiencing some dementia. Just take this pill, but don’t stop taking it as then you’ll really loose ground. So now there is this woman who says ‘I don’t know’ very frustrated. Well mom, I do know, so I began to tell you:

You were born in Laramie, Wyoming. Your dad built a house there, (I’ve seen it). While he was building this house your family lived in the garage through some very hard times. The cold, providing meals and meeting basic sanitation needs must have been pretty tricky. You left Wyoming while you were young and were none too happy about it. In fact recently you told me the neighborhood kids were playing baseball as you left. That was a pretty specific detail I had been unaware about. You knew that!!! 

Your family moved to Denver. There was your older brother Robert, your younger sister Jean, your mom and dad. Your dad was a golfer and played at Cherry Creek and Wilshire golf courses. He’d work all day and then come home and play. (Evidently your mom wasn’t too happy however this fact made my husband’s life happier as I just figured it’s what women did, understand their husband’s hobby). At one point Grandpa Roy even owned President Eisenhower’s golf cart! Your family had a house in Cherry Creek and I imagine it was one of the firsts. You’ve actually showed us at one point but I couldn’t begin to know where it is now. It had a big plate glass window that one time you drove a golf ball right through and then went and promptly hid from your dad, I don’t blame you, however neither did he. I imagine he was quite kind from your descriptions. Your mom however must have been the backbone, as it sounded like she took care of so much! More on that later.

You told stories of hi-jinx with your brother. There was the sneaking into the ice skating rink where you left your bluebird cap (younger camp fire girls attire) I think it was. Only to have to go later to the owner and apologize for sneaking in so that you could get your cap back. Or the time when your arm got caught in the wringer of the washing machine. You also showed me that contraption, no wonder it left a scar! How about the time your brother took you on his motorcycle and your leg got burned?

There were adventures with friends learning to kayak in a swimming pool. Dates with boys that you never gave to many details about. But you did still have the jewelry. Something came from Korea and then there was an ivory bracelet. A marriage that was never consummated and therefore annulled. Meeting my father when you worked in Elizabeth and you two were the only single teachers at the school so naturally others fixed you two up. Moving to Wray, Colorado, having a baby...me. Moving to Denver for a bit perhaps and living in a house Uncle Bobby owned and then landing in Canon City where dad got a job, uncle Bobby loaning you two money to afford the house that I live in that you eventually bought. Having a second little girl. We did live in the duplex closest to the park first. I remember standing between the bumper and the car putting rocks in a metal tray that ran along the bumper. Which of course is my memory but I’d like to imagine you were watching and surprised that I was so content to put rocks in and take them out of this tray on the 1959 convertible Volkswagen. To back up a bit, this car was yours and prior to your even meeting dad you took it to Uravan (somewhere on the western slope of Colorado) to teach along with your dog Misty. You two busted through snow drifts on your way to and fro. You also mentioned a pet bird in these travels. 

You were a very motivated young lady, working at the telephone company where your father worked. Going to school at DU for starters. It got to be a bit too much pressure on yourself and I’d like to think you just needed to have someone help you pace yourself. Somewhere in there your dad retrieving you at your camp counseling job when life became to much.Things were different then. You ent to UNC (Greeley) to get your lifetime teaching certificate, dad got his there also however you two didn’t know each other, wasn’t that interesting?

Life was a bit of a roller coaster ride I imagine. You and dad, both with your own ideas. He worked, you came to that later, working in pre-schools and at one point getting hired to finally teach, you dreamed of this only to have St. Michael’s close their school down and you not getting that opportunity. I do think you did teach prior to meeting dad. You didn’t tell much except one story about the principal telling you that you needed to be stricter. Seemed like you spoiled us in your own way. We knew we were loved.

You used to sing songs to me and sing them over and over to the point that I couldn’t hear you sing without either asking you to stop or cringe inwardly. Well lately you have just one song you sing to me: I love you, a bushel and a peck...it doesn’t quite sound the same and you seem to get a bit frustrated but I hear you and you KNOW that song mom, you know I love you.