So much has happened the past couple of weeks. I haven't been able to write any blog entries because my old faithful laptop had a cardiac arrest. For a while, it looked as if there was going to be a family funeral but the computer was revived and I am assured that the newly transplanted hard drive will be as good as new. I find it amazing how this relatively new form of communication has taken over my life.
While real estate work has been slower than normal, I decided to do something entirely for myself - well not completely myself. First, some personal history; my mother was an Army Nurse, an Ohio farm girl, just out of nursing school when she entered the Army, "for the duration". It wasn't until the Women's Movement started in the late 60's that I realized exactly how extraordinary what she had done, really was. She was shipped to Australia, but ended up in the Phillippines. Immediately became a front line duty nurse decades before women were allowed to do such things. Her group relieved the few nurses that had survived the Bataan Death march and subsequent Japanese internment camps. I grew up hearing these stories like other kids heard about their mothers' going to high school football games.
We are at war again. By some twist of fate and real estate, I was brought into contact with a newly minted Army nurse from small town Illinois. She was sent to San Antonio for training and will be deployed to Iraq sometime next year. Her fiance followed her here this month. They were planning to get married at the courthouse. It isn't often that we get an opportunity to honor our parents memory and make memories for another generation at the same time.
I became a Fairy Godmother last week. In my former lifetime, I catered many weddings, funerals and even a bar mitzvah. So I went to work, made a wedding cake, ordered the flowers, found the location, planned and cooked the menu. Saturday, where the Comal river and the Guadalupe river join, this young couple was joined by a few friends, a minister and one Fairy Godmother. Memories were made and and honored, never to be forgotten.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i131/wrangler_chick82/wedding/wedding173.jpg
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Anna,
What a beautiful post! As I read though your story about your mother, I could just feel the goose bumps. She certainly sounds to me like quite a woman, an unsung hero so-to-speak. Most of us can't even begin to imagine what our parents have experienced. It was exactly 2 years ago today that we said a sweet and peaceful good-bye to my own mother, and I contine to miss her deeply. She remains my hero today.
It's so nice that you were able to take the time to give back to others, helping the way you did with that couple. No doubt you would make your own mother proud! Thank you so much for sharing this story and making my day.
My best,
Lynda