Mom loved her birthdays! We loved Mom!

Today is my Mom’s birthday. She absolutely loved her birthdays. Raising 6 kids all those years she didn’t get much attention. So this day was her day. She loved the gifts and the attention. She wanted us all together. She was an Angel on earth. In our home there was never any physical punishment, just respect for each other. The house was always clean, laundry done daily, fridge full of food and any dessert you wanted! None of us kids ever left the house without clean perfectly pressed clothes, shiny shoes, bright white anklets, perfectly styled hairdos, except to play outside then we wore our play clothes. She loved her birthday presents and cakes, but most of all having the “kids” for a day together. She was small built, always around 100 pounds, but was the strongest and smartest person I ever knew when it came to  financial decisions and the tragic loss of my brother. She did what she had to do. She worked every evening in my dad’s janitor service from 5pm in the evening to early morning. Then slept a few hours and was up at 6am dressed, doing household chores and getting 6 kids up and off to school. I only saw her cry twice when her mother passed away and when Marty was killed. She was the strong one, my Dad crumbled. She loved all the kids in our neighborhood, especially Debbie. Debbie and her were great friends after I left home. Yes, her birthdays were special and she was a very special lady, She didn’t have a title like the Queen. but was more “royal” to me than the Queen. If I could just have one more day to tell her how very special she was and always will be to me. I have many holes in my heart, but the largest one is filled with memories of me and Mom. This woman at one time in the 1950’s had 5 children under 7, living in a house with no electricity, no indoor plumbing and an out house! Yes we were poor but very, very happy and loved by Mom.