Thursday, December 18, 2008

I hope Mom is laughing

My father had a great sense of humor and he often teased my mother by saying that she had none. It wasn’t a fair comment, she had a sense of humor but it didn’t come close to being as active as his. I learned early on that she loved children and dogs and she liked cute stories about them too. Over the years I saved my stories about these two subjects to share with her because, like most kids, I liked to make my mother laugh.

My mother died five weeks ago and I have stories with no place to go.

The movie Marley and Me is coming out soon and it’s just the kind of story that would have had her in tears with laughter.

My daughter is going to Michigan for Christmas, to help my brothers close-out our family home. Since I can’t travel right now, she’s going to pack for me.

Lots of luck with that!

I have no idea how she’s going to determine what’s important to me, or even her and her brothers, from over fifty years of seven lives in a large house that was very much a home.

Every time I see the commercials for Marley and Me, my mind immediately goes to Regina will be in Michigan, she can take Mom. . . oh wait. Then I stop and remember why she’s going to be there.

My father was a big fan of Seinfeld. After he passed away, I wondered if he somehow got a chance to see how the Seinfeld sitcom ended. I strongly believe there a wide variety of opportunities on the other side to participate in what we over here call leisure time activities.

My mother is with her best friend now, my Aunt Vivian. They used to go to woman’s day at the movies for half price. I hope they’ll take the time to see this movie and Mom gets a chance to laugh.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

What does it mean when you can't stop thinking about the death of a man that you once dated? Dated is used loosely here, I think we might have eaten two meals together--a lunch and a dinner. The rest of our time was spent in his apartment or mine--which was the next building over. The reason I mentioned the lay-out of the buildings is to indicate that visiting each other didn't require a lot of effort.

He worked in the same building as my father and they were great work friends.

My father was the type of guy who could be friends with his 2 year old grandson, my thirty years younger "date" and people his own age. I never told him I was seeing this guy because I knew it wasn't real.

So why can't I stop thinking about it? His death, not his life and certainly not the limited time with me.

I guess I'm feeling my mortality. He was only 61. I guess I want to say God rest his soul. I think he was a good person, like I said, my father liked him. Me? I didn't know him. God speed, Bob.