Yesterday was Mother's Day and I knew I wanted to dedicate a blog to my mom. After all, she is the one who gave me my demented sense of humor, which is well-represented on this site. I felt an enormous amount of guilt as I watched the day slip by and I knew I wasn't going to get to it. Of course, that's probably because I was raised Catholic and feel guilty about just about everything.
The thing is, most people make Mother's Day their one day a year to celebrate the woman that gave them life. I, on the other hand, think lovingly about my mom each and every day, wishing she was still here with me. Whether it be Mother's Day, the day after or the middle of October, my thoughts are always devoted to my mom and the amazing person that she was. So, I believe the day after Mother's Day is as good as any to list some of my favorite memories of Mama Rosemary.
- Playing Scrabble with her as a child, only to discover that she would turn the letters over - claiming that they were "blanks" - to make 7-letter words. Note: there are only 2 blank tiles in Scrabble.
- Watching her mow the lawn with a bandana wrapped around her head like Rambo.
- Teaching her to swim for the first time up in Bemidji. Wearing a life jacket will save your life...wearing it like a diaper (with a Bacardi Diet in hand) will change your life.
- Listening to her singing voicemails every year on my birthday.
- The Class Reunion sex change story. And that is all I have to say about that.
- Hearing about how she stole Sno Balls from other kids' lunch boxes in Catholic school.
- Taking her advice of "Come on Sarah! You always max bet!" when playing slot machines and then winning almost $800.00. At which point, she just said, "See. That's how you do it."
- Dancing with her to Wooly Bully. Bounce, point, repeat.
To the Irish -
Rosemary's Baby
