Blurry Mistycolored Memories of Mom

This is a picture of a picture of my mom, my grandmother, my great grandmother and Me on my 16th Birthday. It's the only picture I have of the 4 of us and one of the few pictures I have of my mom, my grandmother, my greatgrandmother and me as we are a long line of moms who equate having our picture taken with having a tooth pulled out. I'm sorry it's so blurry but maybe that is the way it's supposed to be in honor of the 4 of us camera shy people.

My mother was the best. Simply the best. Because of tragedy I ended up with the most fabulous mother. Because she lost a son she was so good to my brother and I. I loved to play cards and knit so she played cards with me and tried to learn how to knit(I tried to teach her how to knit but I didn't have the patience, silly me). My brother loved chess and she learned how to play chess with him. A lot of people say their mother was their best friend but mine really was. Although we didn't have her hardly as long as we wanted to we had all of her. Not just parts like my son has of me but all of her. She lived for us and we both knew it every single day.

My grandmother was a wonderful generous person(as was my paternal grandmother) who was always there when any of us needed her. She outlived my mom and thank god she did because she was an anchor when I needed one. She was a wonderful cook and one of those generous people who just knew had to give and loved doing it. I still have not found a piece of lasagna or an Italian seafood salad as delicious as hers. She was a good listener too. She had a very hard life until she met my grandfather(he's my step grandfather but always was a grandfather to me). But she had such a wonderful relationship with her children and their children that to this day she is still such a huge loss as she was the glue behind all of us and bound us all together.

I don't really remember much about my great grandmother except that she was a lovely elderly woman who only spoke Italian and no English. My wonderful great Aunt Mary lived with her and took care of her and translated for the rest of us. Speaking of mother figures I am thrilled I was able to bring up my Aunt Mary. She was a wonderful woman who loved all of us like her own. She didn't have children of her own and was such a strong independent woman. She lived to be 96 and looked about 65 for most of the last 30 years. She used to have all these bibs including a gold lame one. She was one of the most inspiring women I have ever met.

Oh well that is my tribute to the ladies in my life. They are all up there in heaven together watching over me every day and I am glad I was able to pay a tribute to them. I loved them all very much and am glad that I had such wonderful role models to look up to now that I have my own son. Lately I've been thinking a lot about my mother and how gray I must have made her when I turned 18.

Blessings to all of you. Happy Mother's Day to you and your mothers!