mom — Page 22

A GI and a Girl

June 1, 2011 at 12:03 am by Claudia

World War II is being waged. A neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, like many other neighborhoods, has a program in place that gives the name of a neighborhood GI to a local girl. She is to write him and send him news of home. One such girl, Shirley, gets the name of local guy named Gordon. They start a correspondence. She is young – in her teens. He is 4 years older. They decide to exchange photos. Gordon sends a rather rakish photo of himself in khakis, no shirt, dogtags around his neck – leaning against a wall. Shirley sends him a photo of her pretty face – she cuts off the rest of her body in the photo as she has bobby sox on and doesn’t want him to see them.

When Gordon finally comes home from War, he arranges to meet Shirley at the corner drug store for a soda. They talk, flirt (I’m sure) and Gordon walks Shirley home. On the walk, Gordon tells Shirley: “I’m going to marry you.” Shirley thinks to herself, “Oh, come on. What a big talker.”

Six months later they are married. She is 18 and he is 22.

I love this story. I love hearing it. It is wonderfully romantic. Gordon and Shirley are my parents. They are celebrating 65 years of marriage today. Sixty-five. I’m sure glad Mom pulled Dad’s name out of the hat. Their devotion to each other has only grown stronger. They love each other deeply. And, in a world where the percentage of marriages that end in divorce is very high, they have stuck together through tough times, personal crises, illness, financial struggle and the loss of a child.

Happy 65th Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I love you both with all my heart. Thank you for everything.

A Momma-to-be on Mother’s Day

May 7, 2011 at 6:36 pm by Claudia

It’s Mother’s Day time again. I will call my Mom today and tell her how much I love her. She’s getting frailer all the time. She very seldom gets out any more. Doing something like going into the other room to read this blog on the computer is too exhausting for her. It makes me very sad. I wish I could give her a big hug today.

As I was thinking about Mother’s Day, a mother-to-be came to mind.

Yes, it’s true. Momma Robin has taken over the nest. That glimpse of a bird I mentioned to you the other day has become a fairly constant presence. She leaves the nest for a few minutes at a time but that’s all. In the beginning, whenever I walked by the door, she flew away. I didn’t want her panicking so I draped a net curtain over the door. I came home between afternoon and evening rehearsal today, carefully moved the curtain back, crawled along the floor so she couldn’t see me, and took these photos.

So, do you think they had just built the nest when I arrived here? If so, my timing couldn’t be better. I will have a ring-side seat while Momma sits on her eggs. I’ll get to see the babies. I’m thrilled.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom, my sister and to my little Robin Mom.

Wrestling with the Blues

January 8, 2011 at 9:53 am by Claudia

This is the time of year I have to watch myself closely. Christmas is over, the new year has begun and what seems like endless gray skies and cold weather stretch before me. We had a lot of snow yesterday. It’s light, fluffy and quite beautiful. But the snow and the steel gray of the sky can quickly take me to a place where I feel claustrophobic and blue. When I first moved to San Diego after a lifetime spent in the upper Midwest and in the Northeast, I realized just how much those gray, wintry skies had affected me. I came back to San Diego after spending Christmas in Northern Michigan with my family and it was 70 degrees. The sun was out. Heaven.

Of course, after 8 years out there, I was craving the seasons again. So there you have it. I have them now. And that means I have Winter.

Don, being a Southern California boy, wrestles with this even more than me. He yearns for the sun. Every year at this time, he wants to be back in San Diego. It’s a given. And I don’t blame him. (Don’t tell him, but I often feel the same way.)

I’m heading into this year with hope. Hope for a better year for us financially. For work that is creative and satisfying. For all good things. But, my heart is heavy as I see my mother decline and my father exhausted from caring for her. I know that this year might bring the most awful of changes in my life. This awareness permeates my being. It is always there. And it is intensified in this wintry darkness.

We lost Don’s father last year as well as some dear friends. A neighbor of ours was in a terrible, terrible car crash right before Christmas and is fighting for his life in a hospital just north of us. All of it is heartbreaking.

I have coaching work starting at the end of this month – a production of The Merchant of Venice that will rehearse in NYC and eventually tour to Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Being immersed in a project will surely help fight the blues. I have to begin my prep work this weekend.

Do you feel blue at this time of year?

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On a side note: some of you have asked about the yarn I used in the scarves. It is Mochi Plus by Crystal Palace Yarns. The pattern is here. (There are at least two links for this pattern, but this is the one that worked for me.)

Also, for those of you who have commented on my chalkboard: I’m proud to say I made it and the tutorial is here.

A GI and a Girl

A Momma-to-be on Mother’s Day

Wrestling with the Blues

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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