Today’s Flashback consists of a few photos. 24 years ago tomorrow, I became “Dad” for the first time. My son, Dante, was born. I can remember so many details of that day. It was one of the most chaotic and emotional days of my life.
My mom could not wait for her first grandchild. She was over the moon when he was born. Outside of me, my mom and my then mother in law were the first to see him. I was walking with a nurse and my son down the hall and they spied me.
I love the look of awe in my mom’s eyes. I also love that my grandmother was there to see him, too. It is obvious that I am still processing the whole thing in this photo.
The above must have been first birthday photos. It’s amazing to look at him here. I can hardly remember him being this small.
The above had to be taken just before or just after his first birthday. It has always been one of my favorite photos of him. He was totally zoned in on the TV. If I had to guess, he is probably watching Elmo here.
I remember when the daycare said they were doing photos. At the time I thought it was just a way for them to make money. I’m glad we opted to get the pictures taken. This is Dante a month before his second birthday. Wow.
Tomorrow, he turns 24. He has a great job, a place of his own, a decent car, and he is doing very well for himself. I’m so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. What a great feeling to see your children thrive!
The original publication of this blog was in 2018. Today’s a bit of an expansion on the original post.
Today would have been my Uncle Tom’s 79th birthday. I thought it would be a good day to look back and remember just how special he was. We always called him Rozmo. I’m not even sure why that is. My dad probably knows. I really need to ask him.
In talking to a very close friend this week, we talked about blogging and journaling. Why do we do it? I look at as the “book I have always wanted to write” and the blogs are the chapters. What I am finding is that with each blog I write, I find new topics to jot down on my “things to include in my blog” list. Birthdays and anniversaries easily remind me of people in my life who deserve “a chapter” in my “book”. Today’s chapter, is about my uncle – my Godfather.
In the movie The Godfather, Tom Hagen visits a movie producer to ask him for a favor. Don Corleone’s Godson is Johnny Fontane, and he wants a part in a movie. When discussing the favor, Tom describes the relationship between a Godfather and Godson by saying “Now Italians regard that as a very close, a very sacred religious relationship.” As an Italian, I can say that my Godfather and I had a great relationship for sure, but I don’t know that I would go as far as to say it was “religious”.
My Uncle Tom was one of the coolest people I have ever known. He was my dad’s best friend since elementary school. They were the kids in the neighborhood who were always causing trouble. The stories that they told me growing up still make me laugh today. They once told me how they stole Christmas lights of their own houses! You know, as a kid, I toilet papered houses, but never once did I think it would be funny to TP my own house! They did! I heard stories of how they changed the grades on their report cards, how they got kicked out of band class together, and how they both went off to serve in the Vietnam War. As I heard their story of friendship, I remember hoping that I would have a friend just like that! I was lucky enough to do just that. My oldest friend, Jeff, has been my friend since 2nd Grade. He and I are almost exactly like my dad and Uncle Tom.
I always knew when dad was talking to Uncle Tom. I NEVER saw or heard my dad laugh as loud, or as much as when they talked on the phone. It was the same when they were together. There was always storytelling and laughter. They had the greatest stories! I loved listening to them, and many times, I had to listen from another room. The profanity level rose about 500% when they were together, so us kids were often shipped off to another room to play. Another reason they would move us to another room, was that they would often sit and listen to Redd Foxx albums on the stereo – certainly not kid friendly. Both of them had a collection of albums from comedians like Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx and others. They would sit and listen – and laugh.
Sometimes, Uncle Tom, Aunt Jane, Dad, and Mom would sit at their kitchen table and play pinochle. We’d watch TV and again, I’d listen to the stories that were exchanged from one side of the table to another. It was magical and I was all ears. I know there were times I would ask what a word meant and dad would make up something. Those words were probably profanity or something that a young boy shouldn’t repeat at school.
Uncle Tom and my dad had so many things in common, their sense of humor, the TV shows they watched, the music they listened to and the fact that they both played in a band. I remember them talking about shows like Sanford and Son, and movies like Smokey and the Bandit and Blazing Saddles. I remember after I got older, I would join in on those conversations because, I also came to know and love those shows and movies. It took our relationship to a whole new level.
My dad served in the Army, while Uncle Tom served in the Navy. I remember I asked him what was better about the Navy, and his response was that he always had a warm bed to sleep in. Some of my favorite family pictures are those of my dad and my uncle in uniform. Growing up, I don’t remember either of them talking much about their time in the service or in battle. I do recall later in life, seeing them interact with their military brothers at the VFW hall. I used to love going up to the VFW for “steak outs” or New Years parties. Loved getting the chance to sit and listen to “their music” and rehashing those great stories.
My Uncle Tom is responsible for “the handshake” that all of my friends and I use. I remember the first time he shook my hand and did it, I was caught so off guard. He started to laugh and so did I. He used the same handshake on my friends and we adopted it as our own.
There was never a shortage of laughter when my dad and uncle got together. There was also never a shortage of alcohol. They often drank beer and told stories and sometimes they would just get crazy. Here is an example. I think it may have been the day of my brother’s confirmation or something. We had gone out to eat, and then we all came back to our house, where the stories continued. TVT records had put out two record sets with old TV show themes on them. All it took was for dad to start playing theme songs and the fun began. They began to adlib scenes from the shows, all while on video. Yeah, what I wouldn’t give to have this tape today! They acted out scenes as Desi Arnez and Lucy, Perry Mason, Johnny Carson and Ed MacMahon, and sometimes the jokes were just written on pieces of paper. I remember my dad was playing the theme to My Three Sons. My uncle said “hold on a minute” and ran and got a piece of paper and wrote something in marker. He told my dad to play the music again and as it started to play, he held up the paper in front of the camera. It read simply “My Three Sons-a-Bitches”. As these two grown men adlibbed and cracked each other up, it was like watching two teenage boys. It was priceless and I learned a couple great lessons – (1) you are never too old to have fun and (2) laughter really is contagious.
One time, we were at his house. I do not recall the occasion, but it was some sort of family party. Somehow my brother and I got ahold of the video camera and we were taking forks and putting it in front of the lens to make it look like it was poking people. We had some dinosaur toys that were obviously his son’s and we made it look like people were being attacked by it. You know, childish stuff. The best moment of the video though is one of those moments when everything aligned to fall into place perfectly. We were panning around the backyard and driveway, when the sounds of many beer bottles falling on the ground was heard. As the camera reaches the garage, here comes Uncle Tom waltzing out. I am laughing as I think about it, and no doubt, you are reading this wondering “why is that so funny?” and my only response is the old standby – you really had to be there!
Some accuse me of being a pack rat. This may be true, but I tend to save things that hold special meaning to me. One of the things I saved was the graduation card I got from him when I graduated from high school. He had written a whole bunch of stuff on the outside of the envelope, many of them I had to ask him about. I remember he wrote: Uncle Leroy, Rozmo, Joe Dabbish, Bite the Bag (I will explain that in a minute), as well as punch lines from jokes and movie lines. Inside the card was his tremendous advice to a newly high school graduate: “Stay at home and live off your old man!”. I still laugh out loud when I think about it! Good advice too! LOL
All of my friends loved to chat with him. He was damn funny and he was cool to all of them. He’d always make them laugh and tell silly stories to them too. At my graduation party, my dad gathered a few old band members and they played music at the party. It was awesome. I remember at one point, dad was on bass guitar, my cousin Kenny also playing guitar, my cousin Pat was on the drums and my Uncle Tom was singing some of those songs they loved – the one I remember the most was him singing “Baby What You Want Me To Do” by Jimmy Reed. My party was SO cool.
When I was working overnights at Kiss-FM, the station was “all request”. Granted we had some rules and some restrictions on what we could and couldn’t play, but for the most part, we always found a way to play the requests if we could. I remember Uncle Tom would call up and ask for songs all the time. He’d often ask for something he knew we couldn’t play and then laugh like hell. One time, however, he called up and asked for You’re So Fine by the Falcons. He did not call them by the right name however, He asked for the “Falcoons” and somehow, despite the slightly racist remark, that clip of him ended up on a station promo. How it made it there, I will never know, but I know he got a kick out of it.
In the days before voicemail, everyone had an answering machine. My uncle was famous for leaving one sentence voicemails that were insane. Sometimes he’d go off into some silly rant about how “Uncle Leroy needed a call back” about a suit or some money or something. One time I was checking messages and all he said was “Bite The Bag” followed by his laughter. I don’t know if it was a movie line or what, as a matter of fact, I don’t think HE knew what it was from. All I know is that it was a phrase that began to show up in the vocabulary of me and my other high school friends because of how silly it was.
I DJ’d for his daughter, who is my dad’s Goddaughter, a couple times. I did one event for a work party, and then I did her wedding. I remember him coming in to the hall as I was setting up for the gig and hearing him yell, “What’s up, Holmes?!”. Nothing too funny about that, but it still made me laugh. We talked for a while and he spoke of how even though he’d done this once before (at his oldest daughter’s wedding), he was still nervous he’d mess up his dance. I laughed and told him if anyone could make it look effortless, it was him. I think he was worried he’d cry, and maybe he didn’t want anyone to see that.
I only saw him cry once – when his dad passed away. He asked me if I would be a pall bearer for him and I was honored to do so. It was probably the only time I spent with my uncle that he didn’t seem like himself. Even when he was in the hospital due to some kidney issues, he was laughing and joking.
I remember that hospital visit well. I wanted to surprise him. He was off somewhere for some test and the nurse said he’d be back shortly. I remember going down to the cafeteria and grabbing a coffee and coming back to his room. He was there by then, and when I walked in, he was genuinely surprised. He said, “Hey, kid, how’s it hanging?” and hugged me. I quoted a Sanford and Son episode when I saw him and told him to get outta the hospital, cause “people are sick here”, which made him laugh. We talked about dad, me and my sons, and other stuff. It was a nice visit and I was glad I got it, because I had no idea it would be the last real conversation I would have with him.
The next time I saw him, he had had a stroke and was on a ventilator. His family was there and the mood was somber, as you can imagine. My aunt was asleep in a chair when I arrived. She was so happy to see me, and I was happy to see her. We talked briefly and I told her to go back to sleep. When she fell asleep, I walked over to his bedside. I know that despite all of the equipment and medications, that he could hear me. I thanked him for being such a special part of my life. I thanked him for the years of laughter. I thanked him for always being there for me. I told him I loved him one last time and left the room.
Today, I salute my Uncle Tom. The world is a bit quieter without his laughter, parties and weddings are lacking great music due to his requests, and those who knew him will forever look back on the times we shared with him fondly, remembering just what a special man he was. Was our relationship as Tom Hagen described it in the Godfather “as a very close, a very sacred religious relationship”? Not entirely. As I said, I wouldn’t call it religious. Beyond a doubt, though, it was a very close relationship. It is a relationship that I was blessed to have.
He is buried in the same cemetery as my mom, Great Lakes National Cemetery. A beautiful place where so many heroes are laid to rest. It seems that I have more and more people to visit every time I go there, as many of my friend’s relatives are also being buried there. Sometimes I don’t get the chance to visit them all, but I always make sure that when I go visit mom, I stop by and say hello to Rozmo. I wish I could hear him tell me one more joke…..
Sometimes, you reread something and know there is nothing more that you can add. This is one of those blogs.
Many readers of this blog have only been reading it for a couple years. One of the first blogs I wrote was back in 2018 in honor of my mom’s 70th birthday. I thought I would revisit and update it a bit. I have mentioned her a few times in blogs, but this blog will really give you an idea of just how much she meant to me.
April 4, 1948. 78 years ago today, one of the most heroic, strongest, and special people was born. She wasn’t an actress in television or movies, and was far from famous. As a matter of fact, unless you know me personally, you probably have no idea who she is. That is the reason for this blog. Today, I want to introduce you to my mother. This blog will serve a few purposes: First, I want to, in a very simple way, pay tribute to the first woman who I ever loved with all my heart. Second, I hope that those reading take away a small lesson from it. Lastly, writing my feelings out has been very therapeutic and helps me personally be a better person.
The bond between a mother and a son is as special as that of a daughter and a dad. It wasn’t until I became a father that I really truly realized just what my parents felt when they held me for the first time. Sure, I have seen hundreds of pictures of my mom and dad holding my brother and I. In each of those pictures, they wear smiles as big as Texas! Once you become a parent you know that the smile, no matter how big it is, doesn’t even begin to express the joy that you feel within you!
My mother and father met because she saw his name in the paper. My dad was in Vietnam fighting in the war, and my mom wrote him a letter. They were both from the same city and they corresponded until he came home. Neither mom or dad told me us much about the letters, but they obviously liked each other because they ended up getting married.
You always knew where mom was. My mother was loud. She was Ethel Merman loud! Remember the first play you were in, and the teacher or director said that you needed to talk to the wall in the back of the room so people could hear you? That’s kind of the way my mom talked normally. And boy, could she talk! She spent countless hours on the phone talking to friends and family (I guess this is one thing I inherited from her, because I am the same way). My house was the one you would call and always get a busy signal (this was back in the days of corded phones and there was no call waiting, kids). There was never a doubt when it was time to come home – mom would simple open the door and yell, “Keith Allan” and even if I was four streets away, I could hear her!
She laughed just as loud. She enjoyed life and it showed. Her boisterous laugh could shatter glass, and she didn’t care. I remember watching Bill Cosby, Himself on HBO with her. She laughed so hard.
She could be everyone’s friend, but don’t cross her, because if you did, you would certainly regret it. She could be incredibly loving and at the same time, when crossed, be terribly angry.
While she was usually loud, I do want to interject that there were plenty of times where my mom spoke to me in a normal or soft voice. Those talks were usually because I came to her with an issue and she gave me support or advice. Sometimes, she spoke softly to me when I was sick, in pain, or upset. The fact that she could speak to me in this way, made what she was saying even more meaningful.
Back in the day, we didn’t have cell phones to take pictures or movies. My dad had an 8mm movie camera and he had many films that he had taken of my grandparents and family, and eventually, he took movies of me as a baby. While I don’t remember these events personally, I can watch them and be a part of the memories caught on film. One of the movies I remember the most is my mom guiding me down the hallway in our house on Brandywine on various vehicles. It’s actually silly to think about, because it was almost like I was a model showing off different outfits, except there were no outfits, they were toys. There was mom smiling and pushing me down the hall on a tricycle, then a big wheel, some other contraption, and finally this metal fire truck. Man, I remember that fire truck! I am glad that there are pictures floating around of it still. I wish I still had it!
Mom was a night owl. She would stay up late and watch old movies on TV until 5am and then finally go to sleep. On Saturday nights on Channel 20, she would watch these ridiculous Kung Fu movies. I remember one day walking in and wondering why the hell the people’s mouths were not matching up to the words being said. She laughed and told me that they were speaking another language and I immediately said, “but I can understand them”, which made her laugh more. Because she was such a late sleeper, I remember many mornings when my brother and I would go in and jump on the bed to annoy her. It’s funny the things you remember from when you were a kid – not sure why, but I have never forgotten a set of sheets that had stripes on them or the gold comforter that used to be on the top of my parents bed.
Mom (along with dad) was certainly my biggest supporter. I remember her being in the audience when I was the lead role in the school play. I was a snowman. I had to sing. She helped create my costume. It was basically a white stretchy thing with pillows around my chest and belly to make me look like a snowman. My grandma and my aunt were there that night, too. She was smiling so big when she came back afterward. I remember her telling me how good I sang. It was such a boost. I will always remember that. On the other side of the coin, she held me and told me everything was ok when my car lost the Pinewood Derby.
While mom was a good disciplinary, there were times that my brother and I often had to wait for the “higher authority”. “Wait until your father gets home…” were words we did not want to hear. I’m not sure who spanked harder, to be honest, because they could both leave a nice handprint on our behinds if we deserved it.
Like any child, as you get older, you think that you know it all and think your parents are overprotective. You feel as though they are doing everything in their power to make your life miserable. When you are an adult, you look back and realize that they always had your safety and best interests in mind. Mom and I did go through a period where we did not get along. My dad and I were obviously a lot closer during this time. It wasn’t until I was 20, that my relationship with mom grew stronger than ever.
In early 1991, I was single and had the opportunity to move away to do radio full time. I would be four hours away from home, and at the time I was ok with that. It was during this time that mom started to call on a regular basis to check up on me. She sent me “just because” cards and letters. Her letters and cards helped me, a guy who thought he’d be ok away from friends and family, feel so much better. I could not get to the mailbox faster each day, in hopes that I would find a note from home.
In 1995, I was just doing radio part time, and was working in the Mailroom at EDS. I was told by a co-worker that I had a phone call. When I picked up the phone it was mom. She did not sound right. I asked her what was up, because she never called me at work. She told me that she had just got back from the doctor and told me she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember feeling like I had been punched in the stomach. I sat staring off into space for what seemed like eternity until she said, “It’s going to be alright and we are discussing treatment options.” I could not fathom what I was hearing. As I hung up, my boss asked if everything was ok, and I told him about the call. He immediately sent me home, saying that was where I needed to be.
Breast Cancer. I hated that disease. It had already taken the life of my grandmother, and now it was threatening to do the same to my mother. She was a fighter and I knew if anyone could beat it, she would. There were many times I sat back and wondered if she was going to be around for future things in my life. There were times when she would go into remission and we would celebrate, and then there were times we heard of the return of the cancer. There were many ups and downs and she was strong through them all.
She had a lot of help from her friends during this time. Diane was like a long lost sister. They were like Thelma and Louise, Lucy and Ethel, and Laverne and Shirley. They would hang out together somewhere, come home and get on the phone and talk for hours. There was such a love between the two of them. She was such an amazing support for her. Recently, Diane also lost a battle with cancer. I envisioned mom waiting at the pearly gates to great her and the conversation picked up where it left off.
There were only two times in the 10+ years that she battled the disease where she thought of giving up. The first time was about a year and a half before my oldest son was born. Mom was not a grandma yet, and when she found out that her first grand baby was on the way, she gained a new strength that I had never seen. She was not going to NOT be here to hold her grandbaby. A surge of determination and strength came to my mom. It was amazing.
She was the one who slept (very uncomfortably) in a chair in the hospital waiting room as my oldest son was being born. She, along with my ex-mother-in-law, were the first to see him. They saw me wheeling him with a nurse down to the nursery. I don’t think I ever saw her happier. It was magical. I saw a whole new sense of love in her. My God, she loved him more than anything.
In the four short years she spent with my son, she spoiled him rotten. When we found out that he was developmentally delayed, she spoiled him even more. He made her smile as much as she made him smile. The mutual love they had for each other still brings tears to my eyes. After therapy sessions, I would take my son out for breakfast and we would call her on the phone. It was always a wonderful thing to witness. She would always tell me to make sure to call when we were at breakfast. I can still hear my boy telling grandma about Thomas the Train or Elmo.
She knew he loved Thomas the Train. Towards the end of her battle with cancer, she bought tickets for us to go to see Thomas and ride the train. She was so sick by this time, but she was not about to miss out on this day. She was moving slow, she had a walker and her wheelchair, and I was worried she wouldn’t be able to get up on the train. What was I worried about? When it came time, she stood and walked up there to sit next to her grandbaby. There is one picture of her on the train with him that remains one of my all time favorites. You would never know that she was sick.
The only other time I saw her give up during her battle with cancer, and that was when they told her there was nothing more they could do. There was really no further treatment and now it was all about making her comfortable. She knew at that point that she fought a good fight, but the cancer was going to prevail. At this point, it was time to start saying goodbyes.
Toward the end, there was one day when we were all together in the living room. Mom was in her hospital bed, and we all sat around telling stories. My brother, my aunt, my dad, and I laughed, cried, and all heard things we’d never heard before. It remains one of those days that I will remember forever. At one point, she said she was tired and everyone left the room. I asked if I could have a minute with her and we got to share some very special conversation. As my son left the room, she shed a tear and said to me, “That one is going to hard to leave behind”. It is a memory that is etched forever in my mind.
I was out at a restaurant when the call came from my dad. “I think you should come home. We’re close.” Just a day before I had spoke with mom on the phone, and she seemed a bit out of it, but ok, so I was surprised at dad’s call. The minute I walked into the living room when I got there, I knew just how close we were. We all took turns sitting next to her and talking to her. She was not able to speak any more.
At one point, I could see that we were all exhausted. I told my dad that I would stay up with her if he wanted to rest. During the time I was with her, I held her hand, spoke with her, told her how much I loved her and how much I was going to miss her. I reminded her of some Bible verses we had talked about in the past. I wiped tears from her eyes with a tissue and prayed with her. Throughout that time, her breathing was mostly shallow. At one point she took a bit of a bigger breath, and it returned to short breaths. Then, at 5:24am on October 25, 2006, she took a long, deep breath, and she passed away still holding my hand. I will never forget sitting there waiting for the next breath that never came. I looked at my phone to see the time and woke everyone.
One year later, while looking for something in my dad’s basement, my brother found a bunch of envelopes. One was addressed to him, one to me, one to my dad, etc… What an amazing thing it was to read a message from my mom long after she passed away. The sad thing was that the notes were written before my son was born, so she doesn’t mention him in it. “Know that I love you” was the first thing she said to me. There was never a doubt, mom. Never a doubt.
There was a reason I picked the song “Hero” to dance with my mother to at my wedding. She showed strength that I could never know as she battled that damn cancer. She fought like no one I had ever seen. She pushed and kept pushing. She said she was going to “kick this cancer’s ass”! She hated it with a passion and she was bound and determined to win! She was truly my hero. I was so amazed at her fight against it.
Now, almost 20 years later, the pain of her passing remains. She lives on in many memories. There are so many things I wish she had been around to see. I wish that she was around to see and spoil her second and third grandsons and her first granddaughter. We named our daughter Ella (Pamela) after her (and Sam’s mom, who both share the same name). I think of the amount of love that she gave to my first son and can’t even begin to imagine the love that she would have for the rest of my children! She was born to be an amazing grandma – time just wouldn’t let it happen.
When I originally wrote this blog, I had yet to know that Sam and I would be married. I know without a doubt that she would have loved Sam! She would have loved to see me so happy. I am sure that she would find ways to spend time with us, spend the night, babysit and just be with our family. That was how she was. Sam saved my life, and my mother would be extremely thankful for that. I know that if she were around they would be shopping together, finding the right outfits and toys for the kids and just hanging out watching Grey’s Anatomy or something. Sigh – How I wish she could be here!
I wish that she were around to know some of the people who have played such an important part of my life over the last 20 years. There are people who have come into my life since she passed away that she would have loved. I am sure that there would be things she’d have opinions about, there would be things that would make her angry, and there would be things that would still make her laugh. She would have been there for council, as she had always been in the past. I only wish that I had done more with our time together.
The lesson I hope someone takes away from this blog is one that I have stated in the past: Make every moment count. Answer the phone calls from mom, one day those phone calls are going to stop. Make time to listen to the same story mom has told you a hundred times, one day you will long to hear it again. Never stop telling your parents you love them, one day they will not be around to hear it. Never stop hugging your mom or dad, one day you will miss the comfort you found in them. Everyone is put in your life for a reason. Some may be there to guide you. Some may be there to teach you a lesson. Some may be there to love you. My mom was in my life to do all of those things.
The sad realization is that time is a funny thing. You never know how much you have. There is never a guarantee of tomorrow. Hell, there is never a guarantee of the next hour or minute! Use that time wisely, because it is too precious to waste. Again, that old saying from the band room grease board holds true, “Live every day as if it were your last – some day you’ll be right”. In the same way, you never really know when you are going to be talking to or seeing someone for the last time. Make that time count.
I would give anything to tell mom Happy 78th Birthday face to face today. I know if I did, I would probably have some crack about her being old and call her Old Grey Haired Sally or something, and she would smack me and laugh. I would welcome that today. She is missed by so many, and my heart will forever ache that she is not here today. She lives on in memories. Those memories still bring tears, but also smiles, because they are memories of her. I have written this blog holding back tears. There are so many more memories I could share, but I will end for now.
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom. Thank you for all you did for me while you were here….and all you continue to do for me in your absence. As I said at your funeral, “See you later”.
I stumbled on a picture of my mom yesterday and thought it would make a good flashback picture.
The picture shows my mom holding on to the only cat who ever lived in their house. I remember the cat was named Callie and it never seemed to want to be near anyone but mom.
How mom got dad to agree to get a cat, I will never know. My dad made it quite clear growing up that he disliked cats. Somehow, he welcomed the kitty into the house.
I never knew what it was like to have a cat until I had moved away from home. I don’t remember how I came to get one, but I named him Larry. When I moved back home, my brother took him to Ohio with him.
I can’t tell, but it sure looks like this is our house. It may be the front room. It is hard to tell.
A couple things stand out to me. I do not remember this sweater at all, but I love how mom looks in it. Next, the garland in the background. Mom always had garland on doorways, windows and even on the walls. Garland always makes me think of mom.
I have no idea when this was taken, but it looks like mom is healthy. I’d imagine this was taken before she got cancer.
It’s funny how I was just talking about my mom and then I stumble on this photo. I wish the photo was a bit clearer.
*This is a reworking of a blog I originally wrote in 2018
For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve was always spent with Grandma and Grandpa P. when we were kids. I don’t necessarily know that there was any particular reason for this, I only know that from a very young age, this was the tradition. (2025 – Over the past few years, I have discovered that many Italian families have their big celebration on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.)
I also remember that dreaming of a White Christmas was hardly ever necessary. If my memory serves me right, as a kid, there was maybe one or two Christmases that were we didn’t have snow. It seems that there was a stretch of a few years recently where we were lucky to get a White Christmas. That never seemed to be an issue as a kid.
The excitement for Christmas Eve was a bit different from Christmas Day. Grandma and Grandpa always seemed to ask for our Christmas list early …. like July early! She obviously planned ahead and shopped throughout the year, which must have saved her a ton of hassles finding things. We usually were dressed and ready to go to Grandma’s house by 2 or 3pm. We would arrive knowing at least one thing we could expect to receive – a winter coat. She got us one every year (which we hated, because she’d take us out shopping for it as early as October!).
How about that 8-Track tape case, huh?!
Christmas Eve dinner was always the same with very little variance. Ravioli was the main dish. There would be a feast that included breaded steak, sausage or meatballs, dinner rolls, and just about every other things you could imagine. Grandma prided herself on being able to make dinner that could feed an army! She always made her Ammoglio (pronounced Ah-Moy-Gyoo) sauce to go on top of the steak. This was made up of olive oil, tomatoes, some seasonings and a WHOLE LOT of garlic! I never ate it as a kid, but as an adult – I love it! Everyone who ate it smelled like garlic for like a week!
Dad with the ammoglio sauce and bread. No doubt he was going to be dipping!
There was always a dish with olives (green and black), sweet pickles, and veggies. You would also find a big bowl with pistachios, and another one filled with nuts of all kinds. The nuts were still in the shells, so you had to crack them open with the old silver nutcracker that was probably older than my grandma! I can’t remember, but I think there was also a bowl or two of M&M’s and Hershey’s Kisses out to snack on, too.
For dessert – there were ALWAYS cannoli! Early on I think she made them from scratch (I may have her recipe somewhere), but I really remember her getting them from the Italian bakery. There were also always plenty of cookies! Grandma spent days baking them and by the time she was done, I think she had like 400 dozen! She used to store them in these big tin cans that Better Made Potato Chips used to come it. She always made chocolate chip for me, oatmeal for my brother, cut out sugar cookies and these little ice box cookies that none of us ate … well, I can’t say that … we fed them to the dogs and they seemed to like them a lot!
I recall the year that my grandmother bought my brother and I every Star Wars Figure that was available. There were one or two that were very difficult to find, but she found them. We each got a set! Then there was the year she bought us the Atari 2600! This was long before the fantastic graphics of Play Station or X-Box. The games on this thing were very primitive as far as graphics went! Oh, the hours I spent playing Sea Hunt, Pac-Man, and Pitfall!! Even after all of the gifts were open, there was always an envelope for us. For many years there would be a crisp $100 bill in it. $100 was a LOT of money and I was always amazed at how new the bill was – it was almost like she had printed it herself!
My brother and grandma with Star Wars figures
One Christmas Eve I remember particularly well. Unlike previous years, when we came in the house, we were ushered immediately downstairs. Usually, we went into the sun porch off the back of her house, where tables would be set for dinner and food would be out. This year, dinner was in the basement. We hardly EVER went in the basement, so I wasn’t sure what was happening. In the middle of dinner, we heard a noise from upstairs. Someone was walking (actually stomping, I think) around upstairs. I think she had my great Uncle Ralph come in and do it. My grandma said that Santa was probably up there leaving presents. It was well before midnight, and you know how kids are – we knew that Santa came at midnight and we questioned it. Grandma said she had called and “made special arrangements with Santa”. Looking back on it now, I can totally see Grandma like Don Corleone of the Godfather making “special arrangements” with Santa! At any rate, soon after the noise was gone, we were allowed to go upstairs and into the porch. I am sure I am over exaggerating when I say that the porch looked like Toys R Us! It was loaded with presents and a bike for both my bother and me. I don’t even know how we got the presents home!
Usually after dinner and presents, my brother and I would go watch movies, play the video games, or play with our toys, while the adults went back into the porch to smoke and play cards. Pinochle was what they usually played, although I seem to remember one year they also played gin rummy. Depending on the people who were present, sometimes dad will play his guitar, Uncle Sam would play his accordion, or grandma would sit on the old Hammond organ and sing songs and play. Grandma played by ear and had no sense of tempo (or time signature for you musical folks), so she was either hitting wrong notes or playing ahead or behind everyone else. From a child’s perspective, the music wasn’t very good, so my brother and I would go to another room.
My dad playing guitar after a few alcoholic beverages
When I had finally learned how to play pinochle, I was a welcome addition to the card table. My dad played, but he was usually done after a few games, so I gradually took his place as a “regular” at the table. I LOVED this! We could play forever! Grandpa and mom were always partners. He would often over bid my mom because he thought he had a good hand, then they would lose the hand. They would get so mad at each other. I can still hear my grandpa saying, “I had a good hand!”
Mom and Grandpa. I may have been mom’s partner for this game because Grandpa is next to her.
I remember before I started playing, they would play cards until well after midnight. My brother and I would be struggling to stay awake, our job was to remind mom and dad of how late it was getting – God forbid Santa not come because we weren’t home and in bed! Dad would constantly remind us that he paid for Santa to bring toys, and Santa would “circle the house” until we were home and in bed before delivering the toys.
When I began working in radio, it seemed that I was always on the air on Christmas Eve. One of the “on air” traditions that I started was to call grandma and ask her how the preparations for dinner were coming. She would go into detail about what was on the menu and what time dinner was. She would often razz me on the air and warned me not to be late. She was an instant hit. It was amazing how many people would call and ask if I was gonna check in with Grandma!
I can hear her laugh in this picture.
Over the years, the faces of Christmas Eve changed. Some years there were more relatives than others. Aunt Rose became a staple after Uncle Sam passed away. After Grandpa passed away, friends of the family often came by and the pinochle games continued. As the years passed, there seemed to be more reflecting on Christmas Eves of the past with laughter and sadness.
Over the last few years, Christmas and Christmas Eve has undergone many more changes. While many of the voices of Christmas Eve have been silenced, those wonderful memories warm my heart. I look back at the memories fondly, and I also look forward to the new memories that will be made.
This year (2018), my two amazing sons will be with us Christmas Eve morning to open presents with us. They are older, but still full of excitement. When they saw the gifts under the tree their reactions were typical for their age. Dimitri, 11, saw the big box and said “Whoa, is that for us?”, while Dante’, 16, said “Is this all of the presents, or will there be more?” (2025 – Dante’ is now 23 and Dimitri 18)
I sit writing this as everyone in the house is still asleep. Sam and I have joked around at what is in the big box under the tree more than once. The camera is ready to capture the moments from this Christmas Eve, ready to provide them both with memories to look back on themselves in years to come. I hope that someday, they will look back at Christmas Eve as one of their favorite holidays, just like I do.
One of many Christmas Eves at Grandma’s house. This was when we actually dressed up for holidays!
With the arrival of Ella in 2020, Christmas Eve with my boys continued. They would be with us until later afternoon and then they would return to their mom to prepare for Christmas day.
After that year, it sort of became a “What day can we all get together?” kind of thing. Dante’ was working and was spending more time with his friends. Dimitri didn’t come over much after Dante’ turned 18. When that happened, I began to look forward to the days that all of my kids were together with me.
2022 – My dad and Rose also came over that year.
We are still trying to work everything out for this year. I’m hoping that they can come Christmas Eve. My brother will be coming up that day and will be around for the last part of Christmas Eve and the early part of Christmas Day. I’m not sure when the last time the boys saw him. Fingers crossed for a wonderful Christmas Eve 2025!
*The majority of this blog was written in 2019 and has been updated with additional photos and stories.
(2025) The kids were watching some Mickey Mouse holiday special on Disney+ recently. I cannot recall the name of the song, but some of the lyrics are a perfect lead in to this blog:
“Every time I see a Christmas tree Something lights up inside of me My heart is filled with electricity There’s reason to cheer Christmas is nearly herе“
Radio stations across the country will often begin playing all Christmas music after Thanksgiving. The adult contemporary station I worked at always did. Of course, Sirius XM’s Christmas music channels also start popping up around the same time or earlier.
(2019) One song always really sticks out to me each Christmas, mainly because it really isn’t a Christmas song – Linus & Lucy (AKA the Charlie Brown theme) from the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun song that immediately makes be think of Charlie Brown and the gang, but it is a song that is used in basically every Charlie Brown special. Personally, the soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special is one of my favorites.
O Tannenbaum is the instrumental that kicks off the album. Many know the song as simply “Oh Christmas Tree”. (In case you were wondering, a tannenbaum is a fir tree). It’s one of my favorite versions of the song. I had the chance to hear it over the weekend and it got me to thinking about the Christmas Tree. I recently had the chance to go through a bunch of family pictures and I was surprised at how many of them included the Christmas tree. This blog is sort of a “pictorial” blog featuring some of those pictures.
As I looked through the pictures, it was fun to see the various decorations and the toys under the tree. Bear with me, as some of the years I am guessing on …
The above picture is of my dad in 1951. He would be 5 here. As I look at this picture, I see a little of me, my brother, and my oldest son in my dad.
The above picture is my mom. Just a guess, but this is probably from 1953 or 1954, as she looks 5-6 years old here. I think it is cute that she seems to be in pajamas and wearing dress shoes. Tinsel seemed to be really big in the 50’s! There’s quite a bit on this tree. I wonder what that “Little Painter” set is worth today….
The above picture is my dad, home on leave from Vietnam. The date is 1967. I really have no idea what that tree is made of. Eventually, my grandma had a ceramic tree that my mom made that stood about as high as the one in the photo. That would sit proudly in the same spot in the front window. This one looks … fluffy, and seems to have a strand of lights on it. Anyway, there are other pictures of my dad with both his mom and his dad next to this tree, too.
My folks told me that the local paper used to put names and addresses of servicemen who were overseas in the paper for people to send letters. Both of my parents were from the same city and my mom sent my dad letters. That is basically how they met and eventually marry. With those letters, occasional pictures were sent back and forth.
I think the above picture is one my mom sent to my dad. I am not 100% sure. I am not sure because I don’t know where this was taken. It would seem to me that this would be a picture that she would send to my dad overseas. There are some things that really jump out at me in the picture. Note the “sunbust” clock on the wall – I know my grandma had one of those. Also, note the cool Hi-Fi with the ceramic cat on it. This was a record player and radio. It probably also played 8 track tapes and stored records. I know my dad, and my grandpa each had one of them.
I know for a fact that this was taken at my grandma’s house. I know this because of the fireplace and the huge wooden fork and spoon on the wall behind the TV. In my lifetime, I don’t recall my grandparents ever putting a tree on the TV, so I am guessing this is before I came around.
One thing that really caught my eye is the “paper rack” between the fireplace and the TV. It seems like everyone in my family had one. After you finished reading the newspaper, you’d put it in the rack. Magazines would sometimes go there, too. When it got too full, they’d pull out a paper grocery bag and put everything in it to go out to the garbage.
I was born in May of 1970. I was 7 months old for my first Christmas. I am thankful that my folks took lots of pictures. A few of my favorites all come from 1970, all for different reasons.
The above picture is my and my great-grandpa. He passed away shortly after this. It is the only picture I have of him and I.
I am not 100%, but I believe this picture was taken in my mom and dad’s apartment. My dad can correct me if I am wrong. I remember that stuffed Bugs Bunny to my right very well.
I am pretty sure that this is at my grandma and grandpa’s house. What I love about this picture is a little foreshadowing. One of my favorite sports to participate in is bowling. I love that I am propped up next to a balling ball bag in this picture.
This is absolutely one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me. It was taken at my grandparents house, probably Christmas Eve. I love this picture so much, because it reminds me of another … which I will share in a few pictures.
The above is obviously from the same year. This time, I am with mom and dad. My grandma always kept her house hot, so mom took off her vest. Dad, who is ALWAYS hot, must not have felt it was too warm, because his is still on here.
One more from the same year (and you won’t have to look at that brown bowling ball bag anymore!), here is my and my grandpa. I always loved this picture of us. I was his first grandchild, and you can see just how happy he is here.
These are my mom’s parents – Grandma and Grandpa D. The date on the picture says 1970, but another scan from my brother says 1967. Not really sure. It could easily be 1970, though. It is one of my favorites of them. The tree is in the corner where my grandpa’s recliner used to always be.
The date on the above picture is October of 72, which means I am 1 here. This is at Grandma D’s house. That is my Aunt Jodi holding the bear. She is 5 years older than me. Note in the background, another Hi-Fi. My grandpa used to have big band records that I used to listen to with headphones.
The above picture was taken at our old house on Brandywine. I am about 4 here and my brother is probably just 2. The thing that stands out in this picture is the ornaments on the tree. See those diamond crocheted things? Yeah, my mom made them. She had many hobbies and this particular year, she was crocheting everything! I remember a maroon vest that she made for me. At any rate, those ornaments were two squares, with a piece of an egg carton in the middle, and a tail hanging down. I am sure she made these for many people. I remember seeing them on other family members Christmas trees.
A year later, same house, and same ornaments! You can see them a little better in this picture. I am probably 5 here, while my brother is 3. This would be the last Christmas at this house, as we moved the following year. A couple things (besides the ornaments) stand out in the picture. First, there is the organ I used to play, and mentioned in a past blog about my music lessons. Next, I remember those Ernie and Big Bird stuffed animals! Then there is that picture above the organ – it’s two horses. I think everyone in my family had that picture. Maybe a family member painted it? Finally, and this should get my wife’s OCD going, note that I am wearing the pants from one pair of PJs and the shirt from another in this picture! Good Lord!!!
The picture above has to be from 1977. My grandma bought us each a set of Star Wars figures that year. I think there were like 20 issued the first year. I remember my grandma having trouble finding the Jawa figures. This picture would have been Christmas morning, and we had gotten the figures the night before at grandma’s. If I remember right, we had the big Han Solo and Jawa dolls (pictured here) and Boba Fett and Princess Leia.
What I love most about this picture is that my mom is in it wearing this yellow robe. I have written about her yellow robe in previous blogs. She wore this thing SO much that it was stained and had tears and holes in it. She loved this robe. Eventually we bought her a new one for Christmas one year and she wore that. We assumed that she threw this one away, but after she passed away, we found it in the back of the closet! I have a “memory bear” made out of this robe.
The above has to be from 1978. If you can look past my brother’s golf pants and my wacky shirt, you will see a Tie Fighter and X-Wing Fighter. You can see the tree set up on the TV, but cannot really see the amazing display on my grandma’s mantel. Every year, she put up angels, Santa, reindeer, trees, snow and more. There was one piece that always stood out – a little mouse that was in a flower arrangement that I sent her when she was in the hospital. She put that up every year!
It obviously took my folks awhile to develop film! This is from Christmas of 78, and was not developed until August of 79! First, I love how skinny I am in this picture! Second, I remember having the sliding wooden doors that covered the doorwall. I have to chuckle because of the bowling trophy and chalice sitting on top of the door frame.
I also remember the bad paneling in the living room! I can see the Polaroid camera on the TV, the candy jar, and the glass candle sticks that my mom had. I wish I could make out more of the presents under the tree, but I remember really wanting this game. I also remember that star on the tree. It was made of hard plastic and the ends were very sharp! So sharp in fact, that it could probably be used as a weapon.
The above picture is of my dad’s folks, my Grandma and Grandpa P. This was in 1979 – I remember that was the year that everyone was taking Polaroids! At family gatherings, everyone took pictures and wrote their last name on the bottom, so they knew what pictures belonged to what family! A couple things I notice right away: The tree topper, I never understood just what the hell it was! It wasn’t a star, it was just this spaceship shaped thing that lit up! I remember the musical angels on the wall. They moved from room to room as I recall.
Then there is my Grandma’s beehive hair. She wore it this way for SO long! I also notice the pack of cigarettes in my grandpa’s pocket – you could bet they were either Lucky Strikes or Pall Malls. It looks like he is wearing a bracelet in this picture. I don’t remember him wearing one, but he did here. Just love this picture!!
The above is from 1980. This is my brother and me, with my cousins Arin and Melissa. This is at my Grandma and Grandpa D’s. A couple thoughts on this one – I am holding the very cool Coleco Head to Head Baseball game which I loved. I do not remember that bear I am holding! This is probably the year that my grandpa bought me my cribbage board, too! What is sad about this picture, is knowing that my grandpa would pass away in less than a year after this picture was taken.
Jumping many years ahead now for the above picture. Remember the picture of my mom and me by the tree from earlier? It reminds me of this picture. This is my mom and my oldest son, Dante’. This may not have been her last Christmas, I think Dante is 2 here. She loved him so much and I see the same joy in her smile here as I do in the picture of her holding me.
The above picture is about a year or so before my divorce. It’s my sons, Dante’ and Dimitri. I just love this picture because these two guys (no matter how much they may fight) really love each other. This was such a spontaneous picture and it remains one of my favorites of the boys!
The above picture is from Christmas Eve (2018) morning. Christmas Eve was always bigger than Christmas on my dad’s side of the family. The fact that I get the boys every Christmas Eve Morning to open up gifts is so special to me. I cannot wait until they can celebrate it with their sister (which would happen in February of 2020). They are going to be such great brothers to her.
The above picture is from 2018 (on the right) and 2017 (on the left). When we first got Moe (left) he got up in the tree! When Maizey came along in 2018, the fact that she was almost in the same exact spot as Moe the year before made me laugh. So I put together this comparison picture. It still makes me laugh!!
This picture (along with the song I mentioned earlier) was the reason for this blog. As I mentioned, so many favorite pictures involve the Christmas tree. I took this picture of Sam just the other night. It was her idea. The silhouette of her baby bump against the lights of the Christmas tree is just beautiful!! I posted it on Facebook (she did, too) and I mention how I cannot stop looking at it!
The reason is that it brings about so many feelings: Feelings of love for my beautiful wife. Feelings of joy and nostalgia – because it is Christmastime and the Christmas Tree. Feelings of excitement and anticipation – because the baby will be here soon. Feelings of happiness – because the picture brings a smile to my face every time I see it.
In the years ahead, I hope that more and more wonderful pictures will be captured near the Christmas tree … so I can reflect on them, too!
(2025)
Above are the boys in 2019. Dante’ would be graduating in June. Ella would be making her debut in about 2 months. I can see the ornament we got that year from Bronners. It is the cup of Hot chocolate with 5 marshmallows. Each marshmallow has our names on it – for the 5th one, it says “Baby P.”
Christmas in 2020 was strange because we were still technically in the middle of the pandemic. I was glad that everyone was well enough to be together on Christmas Eve. Ella’s first Christmas was extra special to me because with her being so young, it brought back a renewed love and excitement for the Christmas magic experienced by her.
Christmas of 2021 was fun because Ella was finally at a point where she was aware or presents and wanted to open them. It was Andrew’s first Christmas, and he was just a little over 2 months old. What I love about the above photo is her reaction to the presents under the tree. It has that “How did all these presents get here?” feel to it.
My wife almost always has the tree up Thanksgiving weekend. In 2022, Andrew was a little over a year old and he was curious about everything. Both kids were helping me that year. I was sure to give Andrew the honor of placing the tree topper that year.
I’m pretty sure that the kids had us up super early on Christmas morning of 2023. They both were excited that morning. The Barbie Castle and train table were huge hits. This photo reminds me of having to put them together into the wee hours of the morning. I just love their matching pajamas. I have to chuckle about the “cage” around the bottom of the tree to keep them and the cat away from the tree.
Last year, Christmas Eve. I love that Andrew and Ella are wearing Bluey pajamas. Bluey was a big show for them. Andrew was happy that they finally got to hold Twinkles, their elf, before he went back to the North Pole.
The boys were over earlier in the day. We always tried to get a picture in front of the tree every year. By last year, they’d grown so much that you can barely see the tree in the back. You can, however, see the snowman’s hat from the top of the tree – it makes Dante’ look like he is wearing it.
Surprisingly, I haven’t taken any picture of the kids by the tree this year. I’ll have to be sure to make that happen. I know we are trying to figure out when the boys will be able to get us all together.
The Christmas tree. It will forever be connected to warm feelings and memories for me. So that lyric I quoted earlier … it really expresses the truth:
“Every time I see a Christmas tree Something lights up inside of me My heart is filled with electricity There’s reason to cheer Christmas is nearly herе“
A couple days ago, I posted about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I explained that both my grandmother and mother passed away due to breast cancer. In the comments, my blogger friend, Dana (her blog is: https://regulargirldevos.com/) made a comment led to today’s photo.
Dana’s comment: Thank you for sharing this, Keith. I’m sorry about your mom and grandmother. I do enjoy reading about them when you share your pictures and memories.
This photo of my mom and my grandma (her mom) was taken in Florida. It was taken around 1989. My parents and I went with the high school band on their Florida trip. At the time, my grandmother had moved to Florida with my aunt. I’m not sure how close we were to where they lived, but she was able to meet up with us.
My buddy, Steve, also joined us on this trip. We were “chaperones” believe it or not. We had both graduated and we went off doing our own thing while we were there. I didn’t spend much time with the family on the trip. That, however, is just a small part of a lot of regret.
When my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was an unruly teen who was doing teen things. It seemed like my buddies and I always had something going on. So, I didn’t see much of my grandma. Naturally I had heard things about cancer, but I guess I thought if I didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t bother me. To a degree, that was true.
I rarely appeared at family functions because I wanted to hang with my friends instead. I don’t recall what the family function was, but my mother had taken pictures at it. When she got the photos back from the store (yes, kids, we often had to wait to see our pictures), she was going through them. There was a photo of my grandmother that shocked me.
She looked so thin and pale. I don’t even know how much chemotherapy she had been through at this time, but it obviously took a toll. She wore a terrycloth hat over her head, which was like a beret. She had lost most of her hair at that time. She was wearing what looked like a blue robe. In that photo, my grandma did not look like my grandma. That photo sealed the deal – I did not want to see my grandma that way. I didn’t see her until after she passed away.
When I think back to the time I could have spent with her, I kick myself. It was unfair to her. It was wrong of me. There were things that were not said that I would like to have shared with her. I missed way too much because I was in my own little world. It is one of my biggest regrets.
I will always remember her as she looked in the above photo.
Remember the Polaroid One Step camera? Everyone in our family had one. You snapped a picture, the photo would spit out the front and slowly develop before your eyes. At family events, you needed a pen so when everyone took the same picture, they could write their name on the bottom so they knew what picture belonged to them.
At the time, so many people took pictures with that camera. Back in the day, you put them in a photo album where they stayed until the digital age. Then we all started scanning them. When we began to do this, many people realized that those pictures didn’t hold up too good. Take for example my photo today.
That picture is one of my favorites of my grandparents. As you can see, the photo has cracks all throughout it. I’m sure there are people who restore pictures, and at some point I may have to do that to this one and a number of others.
The story of this picture is a simple one. My grandpa’s feet always seemed to bother him. They hurt all the time. So for Christmas that year, we bought him a “Foot Fixer.” If memory serves me right, the year that it came out there was a barrage of commercials for it on TV. There was probably some joking that proceeded him actually getting one.
The thing I love about this picture is the natural smile on my grandpa’s face. He was genuinely happy to have gotten this! Any time someone bought him something, he’d say, “Why did you by me something?” or “No, no, I don’t need anything.” He may have even said it before he opened this, but he sure did love getting it.
A couple things stand out in this picture for me. First, is my grandma’s beehive hairstyle. She wore her hair like this for many, many years. Many of my core memories of her include that hair.
Next, is the orange couch. If you go back through some of my previous Friday Flashbacks, you will probably see the loud/ugly furniture that used to reside in this room. The couch was this awful gold swirly flowery design. I cannot remember why grandma got rid of that furniture because NO ONE every really sat on it. It looked like it was brand new. However, she did get rid of it and solid color prevailed.
There is a crocheted afghan on the back of the couch. I can probably bet that my mom was responsible for making it. She made countless afghans with the pile of yarn she had. I wish I had one of those now.
The thing behind my grandpa is not the grandfather clock I thought it was. I cannot recall if that was even the place that she put the clock. At first glance to me, that is what I thought it was. Upon closer examination, I can see that it is a shelving unit of some kind. It looks solid because you can see the front door behind it. I do not remember this thing or any of the things that are sitting on the shelves.
As I look at this picture, I see my grandparents happy and healthy. They look great here. I am sure that as a kid behind the camera, I am just enjoying having them around. I never really thought about the possibility of them getting sick or getting older. I miss them both a lot, but am happy to have some great photos to remember them.
I have a few pictures of me that I absolutely love. I may have featured this one before, but it makes me smile when I see it.
This is me at my grandma’s house. It is taken in their front room, where no one was really ever allowed to go (at least when we were there). It was rare that anyone would venture into this room, let alone sit in it.
I’m not sure how old I am here, but I’d guess one or two. I love the look of determination on my face in it. I have no idea what kind of suit I am wearing here. As I look at it, I’m not really sure that shirt even goes with it. I also wonder if I had just woke up from a nap because of the way my hair is all messed up.
That’s my mom behind me. I wish there was more of her face in the picture. I love her smile here. I am guessing that my grandma is sitting on the couch in front of me.
Speaking of the couch, get a load of that crazy design! Compared with the chair my mom is sitting in, I can’t help but ask if these two pieces of furniture even go together. It is almost like they are from two separate (and ugly) sets.
Photos of my grandma’s house are always neat just because of the stuff in the background. The table behind my mom has candlesticks and a lamp on it. I don’t get it. That lamp also has a wacky design on it. I remember that it had one of those light bulbs that had three different brightness levels on it. It also had a way to make the bottom of the lamp only light up.
That orange pillow behind my grandma – I remember it being like a silky kind of material that seemed to snag on anything. There were always little threads hanging off it where it got caught on something.
This is one of those photos where I wish I could zoom out and get a bigger picture of what’s going on. Sadly, I can’t. So I will look at myself staring at this apple with a bite out of it and my mom smiling …. and smile.
Today would have been my parents 56th wedding anniversary. They did get to celebrate 37 of them together. My uncle/Godfather was the best man and my aunt was the maid of honor.
I remember my brother and I were fascinated by their wedding album. It was fun to see our grandparents looking much younger. There were pictures of mom getting ready at my grandma’s house. Mom and dad didn’t smash cake into each other’s face, either. As a matter of fact, almost every picture seems to have a seriousness to it.
I’m guessing the photographer left after dinner, because there are no fun candid photos. I always remember hearing stories about how fun it was to go to weddings around this time. I know they had a live band that played music, but there are no pictures of any dancing – not even the bridal dance. There are, of course, a few family photos and a picture of people lined up at the buffet line.
Despite all of that, there are some really good pictures of my mom and dad. In most of the photos, my mom is not wearing her glasses. There are a couple of her in glasses, and this is one of my favorites.
They both are so happy here! I was blessed with wonderful parents.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 