Reminiscing 70+ years part 2

                Roland brought some corn into the house the other day.  He had picked it from our garden. 

I took pictures of the produce and went out to the garden to take pictures of each bed and started a post on the progress (or lack thereof) of our garden.  I stopped my thought flow around 2:30 as Jenna gets home from school between 2:30 and 2:45 and wanted to be in the front room to greet her when she returned.

            She asked if I could drive her to the youth center which she hasn't gone to for over a year.  I knew  I would have to fill out paperwork as the center requires that the information be updated each year.  It appears that the paperwork packet increases in size each year.  This year felt like a small book.

            Roland and I were in the middle of slicing apples for applesauce and apple pie.  I chose to take the paperwork home rather than to take the time filling it out at the center - besides I had the entire weekend.  For the most part Roland was okay by himself, but would call me in to assist for a few minutes here and there and so I sat on the couch and started to fill out the forms.

            Though the packet seemed thick enough to write on without something underneath, the surface was too flat and I needed for the forms to be at an angle so that it would be more comfortable to my arm, thus I grabbed a binder that seemed closest to my reach.  Now, I don't create these posts in memory of my mom's death - the binder I had grabbed turned out to be the scrapbook we had given to mom for her 70th birthday. 

            My brother, Corey, does not believe in coincidences. Perhaps my subconsciously grabbing mom's photo album was meant to serve a better purpose than a temporary desk for the paperwork I had.  Certainly these posts now are much more compelling than the topic of our unbalanced garden.  Perhaps this will trigger memories for others - if not my mom, perhaps your own.

            Of course I have gone through the album as it was already in my lap, and have read kind words and have smiled knowing how much my mom was/is loved.  My aunt had enclosed a few pictures from the past.  She said that when she met my mom, she reminded her of  Jacqueline Kennedy.  Until then I had not known that anyone had ever made any kind of comparison between her and "Jackie".

            Some of the same values that she instilled into her children were also expressed by former co-workers.  Roland drew some illustrations with captions "It seems like the older you get, the younger adults and professional become.  Children seem smarter . . . technology goes by you . . . But best of all, you have seen it all"  Her traits were addressed:

compassion, humble, enjoyable visits,  great example, service, devotion, blessing, giving, memories . . .  Each letter indicated that each had been so grateful to know my mom. I am grateful to have this great treasure in my possession.  The last page contains a card from my mom's brother and his wife.  He passed away the year that we put mom into assisted living.  His wife also had some sort of dementia and was put into an assisted living also.  She passed away just this year.  Of those who had come to the party or had sent letters, there are at least eight who  have joined mom on the other side.  I am grateful to have known them all and to read how much they loved my mom.

           

The Attack of Pearl Hairball

The attack on Pearl Harbor was devastating.  A surprise military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. The base was attacked by 360 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,300 Americans were killed and another 1,000 were wounded(from Trivia Today) 

Jenna had a first grade teacher that I'm sure must have mentioned it - though not in detail.  Jenna obviously hadn't stored it into her memory and appeared to be experiencing a dyslexic moment as she read the card.  She was eight at the time we were playing a game with my mom (which I have mentioned here)

 

It wasn't her intention to be disrespectful.  She hadn't realized the errors of her ways until her grandma practically chewed her out.  We had been playing Apples to Apples and the Green Card said "Horrid"  I had put down "Bad Dogs" and mom put down "the Attack at Pearl Harbor" only when Jenna read the card she read " the Attack of Pearl Hairball" which she didn't fully understand but didn't think a hairball was as bad as a "bad dog"

Mom was more with it some days more than others.  She truly was offended that Jenna had mispronounced the word as she suspected Jenna was trying to make fun of the situation - which certainly was not the case - but that's what mom's mind was telling her.  She got all defensive and told Jenna how horrible and awful it had been.

My mom was only two when the attack took place, but she did remember being scared.  She had been born only two months and two days before the war started and thus was only six when the war ended.  She was raised in San Francisco and remembered newsreel footage played before the cinema's featured movie.  She remembered having air raid drills at the school.  She remembers hiding when the sirens went off to announce that the war had ended;  in her six-year-old mind it meant that San Francisco was under attack.  Jenna decided it really was worse than "bad dogs" and apologized for the misunderstanding.

I was probably six when I made an ex or a cross on a paper and put tails on each of the sides making a swastika.  I thought it was cool looking.  Mom got upset about that, too.  I didn't know.  Anybody who has followed my blog for the last five years know that I would never do something like that with the intention of hurting.    According to the holocaust teacher resource center, the swastika was a sign of good luck that has become a symbol of evil (see here)

I really love how the veterans and servicemen are truly honored in Myrtle Creek.  I don't personally know who puts the flags up each holiday and remembrance day, but they are always there lining up the bridges and main street.  It looks so awesome.