Shoes

I am wearing a pair of shoes. They are ugly shoes. Uncomfortable shoes. I hate my shoes. Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair. Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them. I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy. I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes. To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable. To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them. But, once you put them on, you can NEVER take them off. I realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes. There are many pairs in this world. Some people are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them. Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much. Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt. No person deserves to wear these shoes. Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger person. These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.  They have made me who I am.

I will forever walk in the shoes of a child who has lost her Mother.

The Final Task

Pearl S. Buck wrote:

“Some Mothers are kissing Mothers and some Mothers are disciplining Mothers, but the love is just the same; and most Mothers are both.”

The Woman we celebrate today was exactly both AND she was not only a Mother to John-Paul and I, but to all of us here and then some.

If you were a toddler, She showed love by spoiling you rotten and fixing you’re boo-boo when you scraped your knee and if She had to discipline you, you stood in the corner and afterwards wrote “I will not misbehave” about two-thousand times!

As you became a teenager, She showed the same love by continuing to spoil you, fixing your boo-boo’s and gave you solid advice on life’s happenings and what to expect and of course if you needed discipline, She made you clean her house from top to bottom and perhaps made you write “I will not misbehave” over and over depending on how much paper she had left in the house.

Even as adults the same love applied. She loved and spoiled you just the same; helping to fix “life’s” boo-boo’s with a solution and game plan to make “everything work out” regardless.  As far as discipline, she held true no matter what age you were, she looked you straight in the eye and at that point you just knew you were in trouble; if you were quick enough you ran, but when she caught up with you, you wrote “I will not misbehave” over and over.

The common denominator was always unconditional love and support, sometimes the love was “tough love,” but it was love none-the-less.

She mothered many children as well as adults, but she was proud of each and every one of us and she always took pride in her work!

She was a devoted wife or some would say “ball and chain” for over 36 years!  My father put it best the other day when he said “I am still waiting for her to come in the room and start yelling at me,” but the love and devotion they had for each other was truly amazing.

She was a traveler; on September 4th the cruise lines took a huge dive in business as they now have one less customer every four months.  She planned vacations accordingly and frequently as she well deserved them.

She was a true New Yorker – she yelled, spoke and drove like one and was a faithful Met’s and NY Giants fan; I imagine it is a little late for her to turn the Met’s around, but do not be surprised with a NY Giants super bowl win this year.

Her faith was very important to her; she was an active member of St. Jude’s church for many years, volunteered with the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Franciscan Mystery players.

As all of us here are experiencing an extreme void in our hearts, know that my mother was called to continue her work, not only to watch and guide all of us from above, but to take care of two very special babies who passed before her, Janet and Christian.  These kids have been blessed with an amazing teacher and she will show them the ropes and call upon them to watch over all of us as well.

Today we continue to celebrate her life and continue to carry out her legacy of providing care, love and support for one and other.

Remember she will always be watching us, so "WE WILL NOT misbehave!"

Laughter Truly Is The Best Medicine

This was originally written on May 08, 2011.

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My mother and I are like a modern day Lucy and Ethel.

Yesterday she and I were visiting pops in the hospital and what better way to brighten up a not so ideal situation than with laughter.

We sat there quietly making fun of my dads roommate with all of his annoyances, laughing hysterically at his expense, poor guy - all good fun though.

We were headed to the cafe to grab a bite and I walked out of the room and used the foam hand sanitizer thingy and my mom was like "how did you get that out?"

I said, "just push the spray part IN .. "

She was like "oh cool" and next thing I knew she slaps her hand up at the bottom of the aerosol can and foam sanitizer explodes out all over her and the hospital hallway, we could not stop laughing.

Quietly we snuck on the elevator as no one was around and rubbed all the sanitizer off her clothes we were on our merry way.

The cafe was closed, so we had to settle for soda from the vending machine.

On the way back up, we were in the elevator and not knowing my mommy had just taken a HUGE sip of her soda, I turned around and said "ewe it smells like poop in here"

She laughed so hard at that comment that all the soda was sprayed out of her mouth and all over the elevator and doors.  It was such a mess, but again we quietly exited the scene of the crime and at the same time laughing hysterically!

Gotta love and cherish those moments and fortunately we were close to leaving the hospital otherwise we may have been "escorted" out shortly after.

The Bamboo Tree Blog

The Bamboo tree is one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth with reported growth rates of 39 inches in a twenty-four hour period.  In the same respect, the bamboo tree may go for years without growing an inch.  During that time it is building strength in its roots.

The reason for the title of this blog "The Bamboo Tree Blog" is exactly that, this blog is a collection of memories, experiences and stories of people who have inspired and helped me through and will continue to during my life journey!  Some years will leave me standing in a null situation without any growth and others will prove to provide me the strength to soar and grow.  Either way, this is a collection of my life's happenings, enjoy!