Wednesday, 19 May 2010
The Book of Days
By Sheila Halet
Many years ago, I was given a gift called The Book of Days. This book contained months and days along with lovely photographs of Biblical archaeology.
There is also space for personal stories of occurrences on particular dates. One of those times was August 19, 1997 whenRose Mittnick Silver, my Mom of blessed memory, died.
For 54 years I was her daughter and loved her with all my heart, yet I never showed it enough. She put up with my mood swings and crankiness and lack of focus and motivation in the education pursuits she so wanted me to accomplish. She gave me every opportunity to excel but I had a different plan - what it was God only knows.
This tribute to Mommy is very late in coming but with Mothers' Day just passed, I needed to write this, albeit surreal, as it seems.
My Mom came to this country around 1924 from Kiev in the Ukraine. It was a harrowing journey and took a long time to happen. The agents who arranged the trip were thieves and it took thirteen years for my Grandfather Morris and Grandmother Sarah to meet again in the USA. They were my Mom's beloved parents, so when I go to the cemetery to pay my respects to my parents, I also visit the graves of my long deceased grandparents, who I have never met and who died at the age that I am now.
Prior to My Mom's illness and death at 83, she was a loving and caring soul. She loved to cook and the holidays were just abundant with good food. My Daddy used to say, "Why go out to eat, Mommy makes the best food."
One day in the nursing home, a few short weeks before her heart gave out, she was feeling pretty good, so we took a walk downstairs to see her roommate who had moved. One of the nurses on seeing her said, "Rose, you look wonderful, why are you here?" To which she replied, "Why thank you, I'm pregnant."
That was My Mother, the first phone call in the morning and the last phone call at night. The good gossip and sense of humor, that filled my life are gone, replaced with memories, yet I have never been the same. It seems that some people come into your life and never leave it till you do. (die)
That was My Mother.
May her soul be bound up with her family members who were so dear to her. MOMMY I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU GREATLY.
[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Instructions for submitting are here.]
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
Comments
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Wow. You made me cry at 6:34 am. but it was a good cry. Thank you.
Posted by: Marcia Mayo | Wednesday, 19 May 2010 at 03:35 AM
Important and wonderfully touching story...
Posted by: Claire Jean | Wednesday, 19 May 2010 at 06:12 AM
A lovely tribute to your mom--our lives are so easy, by comparison, that we need a reminder now and then of how lucky we are. I can't even imagine being in a strange new country and not being able to find each other for 13 years!
Posted by: Lyn Burnstine | Wednesday, 19 May 2010 at 06:40 AM
I don't think it's ever too late for such a sweet memorial, Sheila. Our parents made their hardships look so easy, perhaps to protect us until we were ready to understand. Everything in it's own time. May your Mom's love continue to warm, encourage and protect you.
Posted by: Cile | Wednesday, 19 May 2010 at 11:16 AM
Thank you for introducing us to your Mother.
I enjoyed meeting her through your words and hope you will write about her again.
Posted by: Nancy | Wednesday, 19 May 2010 at 11:21 AM
Please dear "friends" - thank you for your wonderful comments - they mean a lot to me today, especially since it is a Jewish Holiday we say the prayers of rememberance known as Yizkor...Ronni, this was perfect timing. Hope your move is going smoothly.
Posted by: Sheila Silver Halet | Thursday, 20 May 2010 at 01:25 PM
A beautiful tribute to your mother. I thought about mine also as I lit a candle for her and my dad.
My grandfather left a pregnant wife and four children to come to the US and didn't see them again for ten years because of WW1.
Posted by: Estelle D. | Thursday, 20 May 2010 at 09:20 PM
A lovely story and tribute to a great mom with a sense of humor. Thank you for sharing.
We never stop missing our moms, no matter how old we get.
Posted by: Darlene | Friday, 21 May 2010 at 07:35 AM
I have to share this brief comment addendum, the strange fact that this story was published on the same day that I opened the online obits and saw a picture of My Daddy (another story in ESPlace) on the obit of another gentleman who just passed at age 72 nearly 20 years after my Dad; but looked like him. How surreal is that???!!!
Posted by: Sheila Silver Halet | Friday, 21 May 2010 at 10:33 AM