Mom

My mom and dad at my sister's wedding

My Momma... Gee, what can I say about my momma. I am her clone. People that she grew up with, that have never met me, know the I am her daughter when they see me. I've probably already said alot of what I'm going to say here. Oh well...

She was the oldest of 5. She has 1 brother and 3 sisters. She's significantly older than her siblings because of miscarriages. Apparently my grandmother was a battle ax in the morning. So, when my mom was in high school, she'd get up and get ready for school, wake up her siblings, and then wake up my grandmother on her way out the door. :P

As a mother she was always fair and as I got older (into my 20's), I realized that she's always right. I had a truly wonderful life growing up and I attribute that to the hard work of my parents. My father worked to pay the bills. My mom worked so that we could afford the extra stuff like vacations, and bountiful Christmases. You could say that my siblings and I were spoiled, and we're the first ones to tell you that. For the most part, I don't think we were ungrateful... I think.... Maybe I have some rose colored glasses on. Ok... Since I'm talking about childhood at the moment, we probably were a little ungrateful, however I am grateful now when I look back on it.

She's a worry wart. I'm almost thirty and on snowy days, I call her when I get to work so she knows that I got there safe. I think I do this just so I don't make her worry. :P She lives an hour away, and I call her when I get home after leaving her house. When I was in college and living at home, I had to go into her bedroom and say goodnight no matter what time I got home. If she woke up in the middle of the night and didn't remember if I came home yet, she'd get up and walk down the hall to the computer room and look out the window to see if my car was there.

She's more than just a mother. She's one of my best friends. I can tell her anything and I do tell her everything.. mostly.... There are some things you just don't talk to your mom about. I do talk to her atleast once a day and when I'm bored, it's more. I think once I didn't call her for 3 days. On the third day she called me. :P That's probably the longest amount of time I've gone without getting in touch. It's a habit to just call her when I get home from work. I think it stems from calling her at work everyday after school. Most of the time, I don't have much to say. I'm just checking in.

She's an amazing role model. She's been married to my dad for 37 years. They raised three awesome kids. :P We're all successful in our own way. My sister gave them their first grandchild. My brother gave them their first granddaughter. I gave them.... grand-kitties? LOL!! See.. we're all successful.

I could go on about her forever. Maybe I should just take you all to her house to meet her. She'll make a pot of gravy. (for you non-Italians, that pasta sauce) :P

Mom-mom Brandt

My Mom-mom (on the left) with her sister, Betty. I actually took this picture! :P

Dottie Doyle from South Philly... LOL!! She is full of life and somehow managed to raised 4 daughters that are close as.... molecules?.... When I say my mom and aunts are tight, I mean all but one live in the same town. And that one travels an hour to help out and come to family events. Alright... back to my grandmother. She's well... from South Philly and if she meets someone who is as well, you might as well take a seat because she will talk to that person for hours! :P She's all Irish to the core, except for the drinking part and only because alcohol gives her heartburn. She has taught my mom and, in turn, me the not so subtle art of nagging. :P Always concerned about her husband's well being, we often heard in the course of the day "BOB!! are you alright?" This is something I've learned from her as well. For example, one night I woke up at around 4 am and I couldn't tell if my husband was breathing (usually I can just hear it) so I did what any rational adult would do... I shook him... hard :P He was none too happy, but atleast I knew he was still alive. LOL! I have since learned to gently touch his back to feel him breathing. Just one of the signs that I'm crazy.


I was closer to her than Little Helen mostly because her house (for most of my life) was just a 5 minute walk away. I spent many summers by the pool at her house and with my aunts so close, every Saturday and Sunday during the summer was a family event. I told you my aunts were tight. There's an uncle in there too, he just wasn't around almost everyday of my life like my aunts were.


She's full of life with a great sense of humor. She gets enjoyment out of the simplest things (ie a good hair cut and color). It was nothing short of a miracle that she raised four girls who all got along with each other. I'm sure it wasn't all sugarplums and daisies, but from what I can tell, they always got along. She, my mother and my aunts were the biggest influence on me growing up. I didn't need any celebrity role models. I had these 5 constant sources in my life showing me how to be a strong, independent woman.

Mom-mom Cappello

La Mia Famiglia

So, if you've read my previous entries, you'll know that my entire life has and continues to revolve around my family. I'm going to start this series with my grandmothers. The matriarchs of my family unit. They have an unbelievable amount of strength.  I watched them stand by their husbands while they were sick in the hospital and dying. I saw them stand resolute and reflective next to their husband's caskets at the funeral. I saw them continue on with their lives and support their family with unending love and devotion. I guess I'll start with the deceased and get the hard one over with first.

Helen

November 18, 1923- May 5, 2010



Picture was taken by my cousin's Mother in-law


Little Helen.. not even 5 foot tall, was a stubborn Pollock until the day she died. She grew up during the depression, and was put into an orphanage after her mother died. She and her sisters were eventually reunited with their father after he re-married (I think). From what I've been told, they had a rough life growing up. Something about a horrible stepmother and an alcoholic father. As a result she didn't drink and oftentimes came off as a tough mother. My father received no Christmas presents one year because he failed reading. Talk about a hard lesson to learn. If I'm correct, he was 6 or 7? or in 6th grade? Ok... you'll find alot of fuzzy details in this one since most of this stuff was talked about when I was a child and during mourning.


During World War II, she worked in a factory and apparently had a hand in building a piece of something to do with one of the A-bombs the U.S. dropped on Japan. Wow... I regret not getting all those details. She had her own war wound, but no Purple Heart. The tip of her index finger had to be amputated because of blood poisoning?... Maybe... That's another detail I should clarify with my father. Anyway... It's the injury that lead to a future nickname penned by my cousin who called her 9 3/4. :P (I think her friends might have had a hand in that. Not sure where it started)


As a grandchild, I only saw the smiling, loving side and know very little of the real facts about how she raised her children. She was very affectionate and would always rub your back or pat your leg when she was sitting next to you.


She was also quite funny. I'm not sure if it was because Polish was her first language or because she was old, but she didn't always understand our jokes. She would call my brother a "Sofa King" from the "Sofa King we tall did" joke (if you don't know what this is, you write it down and have someone read it. If it is said fast enough it comes out "So, fucking retarded."). Well, my brother did this and made her read it. She just didn't get it and it was hilarious! Whenever he did something silly, she would smack his arm and say, "Oh you Sofa King!" :P She also got some words wrong or flipped around. Her and my grandfather both loved to go to this restaurant near my parents' house called "Fuddruckers." Well, she called it "Mudder Fudders" and we still call it that. It's just too funny not to.


She was always proud of the smallest accomplishments, and would always tell us how "sharp" we looked even if we were wearing beat up old jeans and a messy ponytail. She loved to see her grandchildren living the American Dream. She was most proud with the completion of a college degree, the purchase of a house, or when she was given great-grandchildren.


Despite her rough childhood, and apparently sometimes rocky marriage (a youngsters perceived interpretation of what's been said. not sure how rocky it really was.), she had this life in her eyes. At her funeral everyone felt that she didn't look quite right, and it was all because we couldn't see her sparkling, smiling, blue eyes. She was the glue of the family after my grandfather passed away.  


Regardless of her past, she built a family full a love and respect. Her example allowed her children to be able to raise their own children to be successful, and compassionate adults. Now, as we build our families, we'll be able to create a happy and loving environment with a strong sense of family that sticks together through everything.


*This might get an edit... I don't think I have the writing skill to really do this woman any justice.

Got Me Thinking

So, my little award from Cyn got me thinking, "gee! If some of her faithful are going to check out my blog, I need to post something." Well, something more recent than last Friday's kitty pictures. :P So, I'm thinking... and I realized that during the 30 Day Blogging Challenge that got this blog going, I said that I was going to dedicate a blog post to each of my family members that had an impact on my life. So, I'm going to get started on that.

I guess I'll go from oldest to youngest? I'll just start with the ladies since I've learned the most from them. I'll have to really think about the men in my life and figure out who taught me what and decide if it's enough for a whole blog post.

1. Mom-mom Cappello
2. Mom-mom Brandt
3. My mom
4. Aunt Mary
5. Aunt Eileen
6. Aunt Monica
7. My sister

I'll get started on that and probably post the first one tomorrow.