How could one miss it as flower shops, card stores and other
miscellaneous gift emporiums advertise their wares? Gracie’s Mom loved to
drive and to travel.
Gracie remembers
years back in August they took a trip to Wyoming in a VW Beetle. Unbeknownst to
Gracie, it was her Mom’s way of getting Gracie out of town
so she would miss the one year anniversary of her dear, dear, friend’s unexpected death. This loss was very traumatic for
Gracie as she and her friend had planned to go to high school together, and now
she would have to go alone. Her mother's
scheme worked to some extent, though Gracie felt in an odd way that she had let her friend down by not
being there. Even though Gracie had a soft spot for animals
and was delighted to see grizzly bears, moose, elk, mule deer, black bears to
name a few, she was still glum and this may have been why Gracie messed up the navigation even with a AAA triptik.
She was too young to drive and at one point her Mom could go no further
and they ended up sleeping in the car at a truck stop. The truckers rocked the
car back and forth to wake them up in the morning and took them to
breakfast. Angels come in all shapes and
sizes.
Copyright © 2015 Martina Sabo
Gracie remembers
years back in August they took a trip to Wyoming in a VW Beetle. Unbeknownst to
Gracie, it was her Mom’s way of getting Gracie out of town
so she would miss the one year anniversary of her dear, dear, friend’s unexpected death. This loss was very traumatic for
Gracie as she and her friend had planned to go to high school together, and now
she would have to go alone. Her mother's
scheme worked to some extent, though Gracie felt in an odd way that she had let her friend down by not
being there. Even though Gracie had a soft spot for animals
and was delighted to see grizzly bears, moose, elk, mule deer, black bears to
name a few, she was still glum and this may have been why Gracie messed up the navigation even with a AAA triptik.
She was too young to drive and at one point her Mom could go no further
and they ended up sleeping in the car at a truck stop. The truckers rocked the
car back and forth to wake them up in the morning and took them to
breakfast. Angels come in all shapes and
sizes.
This memory prompted Gracie to
wear her Mom's engagement rings on her trip, so in
this small way they could have another trip together.
Her Mom wore many hats….and she was a milliner (ha,
ha), a choreographer, singer, baker, cook, costume designer, PTA president, Nurses Guild
president, seamstress, painter, started driving at thirteen by driving her salesman dad on his route, daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, grandmother
mother and a bonafide, somewhat
germaphobic registered nurse. It
is in this regard that Gracie thinks of her mother almost every day. It goes like this:
The urge hits, Gracie gets up,
leaves whatever she is doing and heads off to the public bathroom. The ritual begins, she opens the stall door, turns,
locks the door. She hikes up her skirt
and then gets ready to pull down the panty hose and when just inches away from
the seat she hears her mother’s voice: “DON’T SIT ON THAT
TOILET SEAT!” What a
communication system! The vigilance and concern never stops. Mum has been dead for almost twenty years – how does she know? Even so, when
this happens, the voice comes as a surprise. You would think Gracie would
remember by
now. The knees lock automatically and
she stops and goes in midair simultaneously. What coordination! Then, she hikes up the
nylons, pulls down her skirt; takes a deep breath and shaking her head, turns the
lock, walks out of the stall towards the sinks. Gracie knows she is being
watched and of course she washes her hands. The alternative is unthinkable! Gracie feels sure
that her Mum will visit her in her sleep
if she neglects this hygienic habit.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Gracie looks upward, winks and says out loud: “Wherever you are Mum, and I bet you are in heaven, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. It is nice to know you will always care for me."
Much love,
Gracie
Copyright © 2015 Martina Sabo
