Friday, April 12, 2019
I hope this will upload—where we are in the California mountains, we have almost no cell/internet service.
As the “6th kid”—despite being a serious blondie in the sea of dark hair and eyes—tagging along with “Mother Mary” and her five, I have an entire novel of memories over my lifetime. Whether at her house, our house or some huge Krimmel family function, I always remember FUN, FOOD and a lot of NOISE! Many of those wonderful times are chronicled on the grand staircase wall at High Oaks Drive, and it was there that I shared part of my last wonderful visit with Mary.
She had been somewhere the day before, and was, not surprisingly, extra tired that day and was having more trouble than usual placing my 64 year old face and multitude of gray hair. Even the usual, I’m Janet—Peggy’s daughter—was not always sticking, so I suggested I would leave for a while so she could rest and would come back later that day or the next day to visit some more. At that point, Auntie always took her “stair chair” at the end of the hall, and I said I’d meet her downstairs, but that she could just hug me goodbye at the top of the stairs until we would see each other later. What happened next was completely surprising and created an absolutely amazing memory that I will cherish forever. She grabbed the railing with one hand and my hand with her other (and I had an arm around her) and started down that beautiful sweeping staircase with me, stopping to look at the photos along the way. I quickly found a photo of little 4-year-old me and pointed out the “chubby” little blonde with the bubble-shaped thighs dressed in the romper. She remarked that there was NO chubby baby in that picture— that was little Janny. I thanked her for her kind defense of me and explained that I was “little Janny” 60 years later. I watched the lightbulb go on as she suddenly knew exactly who I was. We examined every picture on the wall that day, discussing who was in each one and, if either of us could remember, where and when each was taken. It was THE SLOWEST trip anyone has ever taken down those stairs and I wouldn’t trade any minute of that time. It took us both back to places and times when neither of us had any trouble remembering things and reminded us both of all the wonderful people who had been in our lives. Some of the pictures reminded us of other stories. I’m pretty sure it took us at least a half-hour to complete our journey. It was certainly a time I will never forget and always cherish—along with all the wild times that created that wall.
Love to you all from Dan & me and our families, and, of course, from Gertie’s Baby
