Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!
This week, Mom of Many picked the topic: If you could have dinner with someone living or dead who would it be and what would you talk about?
This week, Mom of Many picked the topic: If you could have dinner with someone living or dead who would it be and what would you talk about?
Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock
A while back, I blogged in some detail about my late maternal grandmother, Mama Mollie. When Mom of Many gave us this topic, she's the first person I thought of as my dinner companion. In this case though, she would be my dinner guest...at our Shabbat dinner, of course!
Mama Mollie passed away almost 7 years ago (on Independence Day, oddly enough). She had Alzheimer's and a stroke, and I was impressed that she held on for as long as she did. Up until the time she passed on, she wasn't herself for quite a few years. So I would invite Mama Mollie the way she was prior to getting Alzheimer's. The last time she was really "okay" was during my earlier college years. By the late 90's (time-wise, not her age), she was starting to forget things already.
I would first invite her to light the Shabbos candles with me. Then we'd spend time with my kids while we waited for my husband to get home from shul. The boys would put on shows for her while she cradled my daughter in her lap. She would delight in every performance and kvell over all three kids, giving them each their own special amount of attention.
When my husband got home, we would gather around the dining room table. I'd even take out the china I inherited from her, that she had been saving "for good." I figure that this would be as "good" an occasion as any, if not more. We'd do all the blessings and then she'd get to try my homemade challah and the chicken soup my husband made with my matzo balls (made the way she used to make them). We'd have a joyous time talking and I would catch her up on everything she missed from when she got Alzheimer's until the present day. (She didn't really miss me meeting my husband, as I feel she knew we had gotten married. She would smile at him when we came to visit her together.) I think she would be proud of how observant we had become. She'd also be thrilled that my older son was named after her.
After dinner, we would have dessert. I'd make a cake from scratch, just because she was going to be there to enjoy it. (Lately I've been keeping it simple or using mixes, but I can make an amazing chocolate cake when I have the time to invest in baking.) Then I'd have my sons show off their knowledge of Jewish holidays and other information. We have a game every Shabbos where we ask different questions and they get to ask us questions too. It's a lot of fun and a great way for them to learn new things (or rehash what they already know). No doubt, she would be proud of their knowledge.
Later, the boys would beg her to sleep over, the way my sister and I used to [beg her]. They'd say "sleeeeep over!" Of course, she'd give in, as we couldn't drive her anywhere on Shabbat anyway. After we put the kids to bed, we would stay up late talking with her and catching up some more. We'd show her pictures from previous years, including our wedding album. I'd also apologize to her for not being as good of a granddaughter as I could have been, especially when her memory started going by the wayside. I wasn't patient and got frustrated easily. When I visited her, the visits were very short and I wasn't that attentive. I would hope that she would forgive me, considering what I've given her in other ways.
Overall, it would be an amazing experience to have Mama Mollie back (the way I remembered her best) and be able to talk to her about anything and everything, as a result. Even if it were just for one day, it would be totally worth it. Since this is purely rooted in fantasy, all I know in reality is that I am living in a manner that would make her proud, by carrying on Jewish traditions and fulfilling my role as an observant Jewish wife and mother. It's a legacy she created that I don't want to see die anytime soon, and I hope my daughter can carry it on for me and pass it along to my grandchildren someday. (I'm sure my sons could pass it along too, if they have daughters.)
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock
A while back, I blogged in some detail about my late maternal grandmother, Mama Mollie. When Mom of Many gave us this topic, she's the first person I thought of as my dinner companion. In this case though, she would be my dinner guest...at our Shabbat dinner, of course!
Mama Mollie passed away almost 7 years ago (on Independence Day, oddly enough). She had Alzheimer's and a stroke, and I was impressed that she held on for as long as she did. Up until the time she passed on, she wasn't herself for quite a few years. So I would invite Mama Mollie the way she was prior to getting Alzheimer's. The last time she was really "okay" was during my earlier college years. By the late 90's (time-wise, not her age), she was starting to forget things already.
I would first invite her to light the Shabbos candles with me. Then we'd spend time with my kids while we waited for my husband to get home from shul. The boys would put on shows for her while she cradled my daughter in her lap. She would delight in every performance and kvell over all three kids, giving them each their own special amount of attention.
When my husband got home, we would gather around the dining room table. I'd even take out the china I inherited from her, that she had been saving "for good." I figure that this would be as "good" an occasion as any, if not more. We'd do all the blessings and then she'd get to try my homemade challah and the chicken soup my husband made with my matzo balls (made the way she used to make them). We'd have a joyous time talking and I would catch her up on everything she missed from when she got Alzheimer's until the present day. (She didn't really miss me meeting my husband, as I feel she knew we had gotten married. She would smile at him when we came to visit her together.) I think she would be proud of how observant we had become. She'd also be thrilled that my older son was named after her.
After dinner, we would have dessert. I'd make a cake from scratch, just because she was going to be there to enjoy it. (Lately I've been keeping it simple or using mixes, but I can make an amazing chocolate cake when I have the time to invest in baking.) Then I'd have my sons show off their knowledge of Jewish holidays and other information. We have a game every Shabbos where we ask different questions and they get to ask us questions too. It's a lot of fun and a great way for them to learn new things (or rehash what they already know). No doubt, she would be proud of their knowledge.
Later, the boys would beg her to sleep over, the way my sister and I used to [beg her]. They'd say "sleeeeep over!" Of course, she'd give in, as we couldn't drive her anywhere on Shabbat anyway. After we put the kids to bed, we would stay up late talking with her and catching up some more. We'd show her pictures from previous years, including our wedding album. I'd also apologize to her for not being as good of a granddaughter as I could have been, especially when her memory started going by the wayside. I wasn't patient and got frustrated easily. When I visited her, the visits were very short and I wasn't that attentive. I would hope that she would forgive me, considering what I've given her in other ways.
Overall, it would be an amazing experience to have Mama Mollie back (the way I remembered her best) and be able to talk to her about anything and everything, as a result. Even if it were just for one day, it would be totally worth it. Since this is purely rooted in fantasy, all I know in reality is that I am living in a manner that would make her proud, by carrying on Jewish traditions and fulfilling my role as an observant Jewish wife and mother. It's a legacy she created that I don't want to see die anytime soon, and I hope my daughter can carry it on for me and pass it along to my grandchildren someday. (I'm sure my sons could pass it along too, if they have daughters.)
This was taken when I was about the same age as my daughter is now.
1 comment:
very nice! i remember mama mollie fondly. a very sweet lady!
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