Monday, April 14, 2008
The memories are countless as everything I do in life is guided one way or another by my mother and my father. All of my childhood with her was spent in Minneapolis, where we lived for twenty years. She was pretty brave being the one and only sibling to be separated from her family back in Jersey. She made the most of it and never let it get in the way of raising a family. We lived on a quiet, dead-end residential street where everyone knew everyone and no car traveled un-noticed. We had great neighbors who, to this day, have stayed in touch. I think Ann spoke a bit about how popular Mom was with the neighborhood kids. I just wanted to add to that story by relating how some of the Sage Family affinity for dentistry traveled out to Minnesota with her. I’m not sure if it’s an ADA approved technique or not, but my mom had a special gift for painlessly pulling loose baby teeth. It involved a bit of distraction, a Kleenex, and a quick little twist. The word spread rapidly and we had the neighborhood kids all knocking at the door when it came to that time.
As happy as she was in Minnesota, I knew she longed for the day when she could return to New Jersey. We did make a trip every summer, by car, of course, and without air conditioning. Two long days with night in a Holiday Inn (because they had swimming pools). It was always a great trip … even the car ride. Mom and Dad would make up a little side by side bed in the back seat of the sedan complete with blankets and pillows. Seat belts hadn’t been invented for cars yet … just airplanes. We’d hit the road at 3:30 in the morning and sleep the first few hundred miles. Mom was so excited to finally be on the way east. Mom also made up a lunch for us to eat while driving … time was too precious to stop and eat in a restaurant. One hour was sixty miles! She’d have the cooler next to her on the front seat and serve us all as we drove. But we always made it … a bit crisp at times … but the cool Watchung mountain air and Uncle Doc’s swimming pool made it all worthwhile. Being back with her family was heavenly to her and she just glowed through the whole vacation. Every night family would stop by just to sit on the porch and talk of good times. I wouldn’t want to have missed a minute of it.
When Mom and Dad retired and finally got to move back home, it was me that made the annual trip east. And after Alane and I married and started our own family, I was able to share these same experiences with them … except it always took us 3 days … with air conditioning. Visits were always shorter than we wanted, but it gave Mom a chance to spend precious time with her grandchildren … reading, playing games, and sharing those great home cooked meals!
Yes, with Mom, family was always number one. My father, us kids, her mother, brothers and sisters were what life was all about. She was the bond that held us all together. And with her gone, that bond will still be there as she is in our memories and in our hearts.
