G is for Gambling

Especially the slots... Which Momma loves to do, and I mentioned in the letter D post...

We're over-nighting in Reno at the start of a two week road trip, and there's no wi -fi reception where we stopped for the night...

Hopefully back to blogging for reals tomorrow...

Thanks for all the kind words regarding Momma... She's a trooper and handling things seemingly well.

F is for Frantic

**A little frantic right now as we prepare for a

two week trip...

Just sat down to blog, and I haven't even packed

my toiletries or electronics which

I will take on the road with me...

See you tomorrow for the letter G!

E is for Europe

In 1993, Momma and I took a trip to Europe.

It was her first time, my second.

We bought EuroRail passes and went from Rome to Madrid

then down to Gibraltar and Malaga.

Here she is in Spain.

I think it's one of my favorite pictures of her on the trip.

Her conservative nature was sorely tested on our first trip to the beach.

She just didn't know where to look.

She asked how they could just "run around like that."

I explained that women often went topless in Europe at the beach,

and men didn't wear swim trunks like in the States.

They wore swim briefs.

Poor, Momma.

She learned a lot about different cultures on that trip.

But then, she was the one who always told me that it was

important to travel because 

"to truly understand people

you have to know where they come from, and

you should travel to see that not everyone does things the same way

so that you don't go around thinking your way is the only way.'

D is for Diamond Girl

April's Birthstone is a diamond,

and my mother is a diamond girl.

Not only does she love diamonds,

but she's probably the luckiest person I know.

I keep telling her that it's no fun going gambling with her

because she always wins...

I leave her at a slot machine, come back,

and she hands me a ticket...

Seriously, every time...

Small casino, big casino, Indian casino...

I'm surprised she didn't pull out a loupe...

C is for Cruise

Back in May of last year, I wrote about my mother's illness and how my only hope was that she would make it to a planned cruise in September.  She did...

We traveled from our home in Northern California to Portland

where we caught a train...

Which took us to Vancouver, BC where we caught our boat...

Momma checking out the view of Canada Place

from her cabin balcony...

And some of the other things she saw...

She did make it off the boat a couple of times...

We had a lot of fun...

And then got off the boat to get on a bus for an inland adventure...

We saw Denali

She wasn't crazy about her seatmate...

But she enjoyed the travel...

And she checked off one of her bucket list items...

Which I am happy she lived to do...

She's got a few more, including some we'll be

hitting this month, so stick around...

She's not done yet...!

B is for Bubbles

Bubbles B.

That was my mom's nickname at work...

When she worked with Beckman Industrial

whom she worked for during 35 years..!

Yeah, 35 years!

Without a college degree...

She went from assembly line worker

to quality control

to buyer...

And it wasn't "Bubbles" as in Cobra Bubbles from

"Lilo and Stitch"

but more like fun-loving and lively bubbles...

Like those you find in champagne;

perky and effervescent...

I like to think of my mom this way,

before she retired and started spending less time with her work friends

before her illness made it so she can't dance like she used to

or wear the heels she loved...

But, on her good days, she still displays that vivacious personality

and quick wit, so that you can totally understand

why her co-workers would have called her "Bubbles B..."

A is for Annie

If you're a follower of my blog, you know that I've written about my mother in the past, and almost a year ago I wrote that she is in failing health.  I am dedicating this year's A to Z Challenge to her since it's her birthday month, and I will be writing about her during the challenge...  I hope you'll follow along as I tell her story...

 

Until about the time I went to high school, there was never "Mom" or "Mommy" or "Momma" only "Annie."  It's hard being a single mom, and she worked all the time which meant I was taken care of by aunts, cousins, and other family members.  They called her "Annie," so that is the name that I knew her by.

Growing up, I honestly can't remember hugs or snuggles or kisses.  I don't remember ever running to her arms or calling out to her.  You see, our family wasn't very demonstrative.  Even if I had an injury, it was more of telling her "oh, by the way" instead of running to her crying;  that might result in a "go get the mercurochrome" or equally a few smacks on the bottom for getting into something I shouldn't have.

This changed when I went away to college.  I really wasn't comfortable with all the hugging going on.  It took me several months to get used to being hugged by casual friends.  I also never expressed much in the way of emotions.  Relationships just kind of happened, and usually they entailed an attitude of "what can I get out of this?"  But I learned.

Just like I studied ancient Greek literature or calculus, I studied others and learned to relax around people.  I learned to hug.  I learned to love on an emotional level.  My relationship with my mother improved, and I started to call her "Mom."  I liked to say we did better with some distance between us.  And then I graduated from college and went to live in Mexico City for a year.

I'll just say I had several experiences that made me, at times, concerned for my safety.  My mother became my lifeline.  She sent me letters of encouragement.  She managed my accounts stateside.  After one particularly hair-raising event and the sudden death of an uncle, I think I had an epiphany... we're all going to die one day and life is short.

Some time after that I told her "I love you" for the first time at the end of a phone conversation.  I waited, but she didn't say it back.  From that time onward, I would say it at the end of our weekly phone conversations.  It took about three or four weeks, but one day she said it back.  And, she's been "Momma" ever since.