My Birthday Ode To My Mom On My Birthday

She was a young and vibrantly beautiful woman, two years short of her 40th birthday, and ready to pop with her fifth child. Almost as beautiful on the inside as out, she possessed an incredible strength that she still holds today, and she knew that she had to be prepared. It was early December, but the spirit of Christmas was already heavy in the hustle and bustle of the air. She had to be finished with her Christmas shopping because she would never disappoint her 4 other children. The toys were bought, wrapped and safely hidden from sight as she knew the time for baby could be at any moment. She even drove an hour away, enormous belly and all, to secure the coveted ski boots for her oldest. There was no Cyber Monday in those days-it was late in the 60's. Those who knew her best were not surprised. She was extremely capable and the birth of a child, for her, was no deterrent.

Soon she felt the child was ready and off she went to the hospital. It was 8 or 9 am when the baby girl arrived! She didn't remember much because of the anesthesia, but she remembered being ecstatic God had given her another girl. Two girls, she had first, then two sons, and this baby girl was a joy to behold! Back then, the gender of the child you carried was a mystery to be revealed only at the joyous moment. She went in with a few ideas of names. "What would we name her," she thought. And she remembered the lovely nurse who took such good care of her while in the hospital. The nurse was named Candace and she quickly decided it was a most beautiful choice. Baby Candace, was to her, the most wonderful Christmas gift of all. Her husband was born on the following day many years before, and they joked that the baby wanted to make her own entrance into the world. Candace would not wait, they laughed, she had to make it all her own. Oh, how they knew me even back then. 

Some forty something years later and she is still a beautiful and strong woman and still very much prepared for her children's Christmas. 16 grandchildren later, 2 of them from Candace, she still toils with the Christmas shopping for each and every one. The joy of child birth long past her, she has reveled in the wonder of the many births that her children experienced as if they were her own. She still possesses the ability to be the mother she has always been; Loving, caring, nurturing and strong. 

God, she always says gave her the gift of her 5 children; like her 5 fingers, she couldn't live without her fingers. But really we are the fortunate ones. God truly gave us the gift of her. So lucky, are we...

On The Street Where You Live

My brother told me a few Sunday's ago, while we were all together for dinner, that the beloved house that we grew up in was for sale. 

Really, I thought. I had always fantasized about buying it back. 

He then showed us the listing on line. It was with much joy that we (thanks to technology) looked through the photos online of our childhood home. I could hardly believe my eyes..not much had changed since the 37 years ago that we moved out. I noticed the kitchen floor was the same tile floor my mom had installed in the 70's. The bathrooms looked to be the same bathroom we used as kids and the finished basement, where we had a bumper pool table and the neighborhood's first video games hadn't changed at all. Such happy memories growing up in that beloved house. 

For two weeks I couldn't get my house out of my head. Not to far from where I live now, I had often driven by the home and pointed it out to my children and my husband. Each time I watched and wondered why it had fallen into disrepair. I often said I would have given anything to get back inside and see it. Now was my chance and I knew that I probably wouldn't have this opportunity again. I watched the listing waiting for an open house opportunity and yesterday I had my chance!

I took my mom and we toured the house I grew up in. She was delighted to see the deep red, kitchen tile she installed still in pretty good shape. I was so taken by the closet doors, still slatted and with the same door handles that I grew up with. What wasn't so great about that was that the closets inside were still the same wooden dowels that we had hung our clothes many years before. They looked old because they were. Even the kitchen pantry, where I used to scour for goodies and treats, was the same four shelved wooden closet. It had stood the test of time, but because of that it was obviously time for change. 

The bathroom by the back door was the same! I swear my mom installed that Dixie cup dispenser when we were kids...and there it was. We wondered if going back into the house after all those years would be emotional, but it wasn't for either of us. It was great, really! And it felt so good to be able to remember good memories we shared inside the house. Truth is, it felt just like home-even with someone else's belongings everywhere. Even the realtor walked around with us as we toured the house, listening to us comment on everything. She later told us that we had made her day as it was obvious to her how much we loved living in that house.

I took a selfie in almost every room of the house and there I am inside my old room. I stood at the point where I used to sit and play records and dolls and I swear I could have stayed there all day-just happy to be inside. I took pictures for my brothers and sisters too, and I sent this picture to my brother of me outside the closet he used to lock me in-then take off and leave me there-when we played hide and go seek. Again-they were the same wooden shelves I had squeezed into when I was a kid. 

We left no stone unturned and we even toured the garage. 

My eyes spied this on the garage window.

That was my dad's security company that he owned when we lived there!! Mom was tickled to see it was still there. 

Standing there on the driveway where I learned to ride a two wheeler and skinned many a knee, it was obvious that even though we didn't live there any longer, we were still very much a part of that beautiful home and its legacy. If the old saying is true, that life takes you to unexpected places but love brings you home, then I have come full circle and truly come home. 

Will we buy it back? Who knows? We talked about it and we agreed that it seemed like after we left,  the people that lived in it stopped taking care of it, never truly loving it the way we did. We are intrigued to say the least, but we all agree-it needs a lot of love and some serious TLC.

Sunday Morning

So I walked into a local grocery store this morning, to grab a couple of things before work. The moment I entered the aroma awakened my senses with the most amazing smell...

I looked at the cashier at the door and said, "I smell sausage."

She smiled and said, "Yes! The deli guys are making sausage for the lunch crowd."

The smell was heaven. It smelled, I told her, like Sunday morning. When I was a kid, being the last in a line of 5 children, I grew up to the smell of sweet Italian sausage cooking every Sunday morning. On Sunday, my mom would have a big breakfast waiting for her family. There was regularly an array of breakfast foods at my house on Sunday morning. My dad, 100% of Italian descent, would play tennis with his buddies early every Sunday morning and when he arrived home, breakfast was always ready.

Back in the innocence of those days, food was love. We never thought about fat content, calories and gluten. We ate because we were growing kids and my mother made sure we ate well. Sunday mornings were my favorite because it was the best of everything. We always had fresh fruit; cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and orange juice as well as toast, assorted danish and pastries, eggs, bacon, pancakes and of course, sweet Italian sausage. Sometimes she even made a breakfast quiche and if you wanted an omelette, my mom would be ready with the frying pan to accommodate.

I was usually the first to rise, my brothers and sisters all teens at the time, would wake later because the yummy smell could wake anyone from a deep slumber no matter how lazy they were. My dad, at the head of the table, ate slowly, with the Boston Globe in front of him and I would happily read the comic page and enjoy the breakfast with my family. Those were some of the happiest memories I have of growing up. It was our very own Brady Bunch moment, and it was part of our routine.

My children love sweet Italian sausage too. Our busy lives today, unfortunately never lent to the innocence of Sunday morning breakfast. When my kids were little there were early Sunday hockey games, lacrosse games or rehearsals to attend, so I tried my best to make Sunday mornings as special as I could. And yes, I cooked the sausage.

It's amazing how that smell this morning brought me such happiness and joyous memories all in a flash.

Frick and Frack are home from college now and you can bet that this Sunday will be special. In fact, I'm making the grocery list now. Be dammed fat, sugar, gluten and calories! I want to make a memory and I think that's far more important, if only for a Sunday morning.

Today's Special: 2 For 1 A "Real Bargain"

So there has been a lot of funny talk about marriage at The Daily Dandy lately. I called to memory-and even pulled up and recited-a post that made me chuckle. I thought it really put things into perspective then and I still do now, as I have repeated this story more than once in the past week.I hope it brings you a laugh and some perspective too.


This is a RE-POST which first appeared here on July 29th, 2010. Titled "Divine Intervention"

So I was at my store the other day and one of my favorite customers and I were having a chat. We were talking about marriage and spouses and such, seeing as I'm heading down that path again in just 5 short weeks. We talked about longevity and commitment and how marriage is work. I was telling her that my mom has been complaining that she is really frustrated with my dad lately, for one reason or another. My customer then relayed this story to me, which I found to be quite amusing, indeed. I then, immediately relayed the story to my mom. True or not, this is one I will remember.

She told me that she had seen an interview with the Rev Billy Graham and that she always calls it to mind when she is feeling less than amorous with her spouse. She said it gives her peace.
The story goes like this:

The Reverend was asked by the interviewer if the Lord had ever spoken to him directly. The Reverend response was, "Only once." He went on to say that he had been arguing with his wife one day and while shaving his face alone in the bathroom, still stewing over the specifics of their argument, the Lord spoke to him and said, "You're no bargain, either."

I couldn't help but think it was genius.

Whether or not the higher power actually intervened and spoke those words of truth to the Reverend is completely irrelevant to the point, which is, so true.

"You're no bargain, either"

Damn, ain't that the truth.
This is not an endorsement of the Reverends teachings, or a religious or political agenda advancement. It's just a simple take on that age-old commitment of marriage.

It sure puts things into perspective doesn't it?

The New England Experience

A major snow storm is predicted for these parts later today, all day tomorrow and into Wednesday morning. Forecasts predict up to two feet or more of snow dumped into our area in the next 48 hours with close of 32 hours of heavy snowfall.

And that means it's time for the New England experience.

I was born and raised in Massachusetts, so I've seen my fair share of snow storms. I even survived the Blizzard of '78 as a kid who was out of school for over a week. Yes, it snows a lot here and yes, we always manage to survive it. This time they are predicting a blizzard with 24-28 inches of snow with potential flooding and strong damaging winds. OK-so that means a few things to us:

• Check the salt, sand and ice melt in your garage. I can't even imagine what Home Depot looks like today, but I'm pretty sure its got SOLD OUT signs everywhere. 
• Buy batteries, candles, matches and flashlights. These are essential storm preparedness items.  Also-charge all essential electronics, cell phones, lanterns, lap tops and Ipads. 
• Food and Water-It's insane how crazy the region gets over food and water. We have known about the severity of this storm for just about 24 hours and our local markets are already bare bone! I took these pics this morning at our local major supermarket. 

                                                 

• Test the generator. Power outages will be a reality this storm and we don't know for how long. Because of the severity of the weather challenges in this region, most people I know have invested in hard wired generators. It's just smart business for most of us who live in older towns where the power lines are still above the ground and the investment comes back two fold on storms like this. 
• To me-the snow storm means people will home SHOPPING ONLINE! Why not take advantage of this fact and have an ONLINE SALE?!!! Go to www.candybarcosmetics.com this Tuesday, Jan 25th and Wednesday, Jan 26 and use the code SNOWDAY at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase. 

It's like this: we bitch and moan about the big storms and yes, it can be dangerous, inconvenient and bad for business but the one thing we all know to be true is that it is uniquely New England. I was talking to my mom today in who is in Florida and she told me that this snow storm is the lead story on every newscast down there. She then told me that she's a wee bit envious. She said that despite the nuisance of a snow storm, it's that warm and endearing feeling you get while hunkering down with your family that she will miss.  

I gotta agree with her on that. 

Mom's Rock

What My Mother Taught Me

My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You’d better pray that will come out of the carpet.”

My mother taught me TIME TRAVEL.
“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

My mother taught me IRONY.
“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”

My mother taught me about WEATHER.
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”

My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”

My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
“You are going to get it when you get home!”

My mother taught me HUMOR.
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”

My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you”.

Happy Mothers Day Bloggers! Mom-thanks for all the lessons you taught me! I Love you.

The Color Of Rosemary

So the people over at Julep Nail polish asked me to participate in a "fun blogging campaign" for Mother's Day.  The email, from the Community  Outreach Coordinator read as follows: 

"We’re asking great bloggers like you to participate by writing a post about which color best represents the members of your family. Whether you chose to write about your own mother or your children, we want to know what color represents each of them best in your eyes."

I'm thinking they are very smart to ask me because this topic represents two of my favorite things; my mother and beauty products. Inspired, I began thinking about this task all morning and I brainstormed to come up with the words for the color that best represents my mom. Her name is Rosemary. She is also known as Rose or Rosie so its only fitting that the color red comes to mind. 

Red is fiery and passionate like my mom. Those who know her best would describe her as a straight shooter, a pistol with a sharp mind and tongue and OH BOY does she know how to use it. Yes, red is definitely part of my moms personality, but when I got started brainstorming I found that there was so much more than red to the color of Rosemary. 

My mom is solid. My mom is elegant, physically beautiful, vibrant and funny. I'll add in a dash of the shocking things she sometimes says and the sparkle in her eyes. Suddenly there's a new color emerging. She's sweet but tart and loving and kind. Rich in many things, my mother, her colorful personality is what attracts us to her like the moth to the flame.  Her pride and joy are her 5children. "my five fingers" she says, "I can't function without my five fingers." Her loyalty is ever lasting which makes her dependable so The Color of Rosemary needs to be chip resistant and gorgeous. 

When I add all of that to the color red, I see a deep, rich, bold color emerging. A hot pink Fuschia like no other. A pink for the ages with a flat, but bold shine. 

Yes, The Color of Rosemary definitely stands out among the crowd.