holidays

Mother’s Day May 12,2024

Today is Mother’s Day and a couple of days ago I realized that it has been over forty years since mom passed away. I was in her body for nine months. She nourished me, kept me warm and protected me while I was just growing inside her. I am sure I created her a lot of pain since she commented to me that I was a large baby.

From birth until my twenties, she fed me, protected me, taught me many things about living and life. As I look back at my life, I was a handful during my young years. One time while standing in the grocery store behind this lady. The lady turned around and said to me, “you little snot!”. My mother asked her what the problem was, and the lady replied. “Your son just pinched me on the butt!” I then received the lesson that you don’t pinch ladies’ butts.

The teenage years were very difficult for me which today I still do not know why. I was angry at the world and didn’t like myself. I took everything for granted and gave my mother many trying times in those years. I got involved with the wrong crowd of teenagers and was very fortunate I didn’t get arrested or paid long term for any deeds we did. My mother continued to love me and never left my side.

When I was drafted into the army, she faithfully wrote me a letter every week If it wasn’t for the letters from mom, I would have received very few letters from home during military times. I had very few friends at that time. I am the type of person that does not attempt to continue a friendship.  

Coming home from the military my parents welcomed me back into their home and allowed me to live there until marriage came into my life. I did have to pay room and board while I lived there though. It was good for me because I needed to realize in this world nothing is free. Mom loved me just a much as she did when I was young.

Through marriage, a divorce, living alone mom was always beside me. Her love never faulted. I now regret that I took this love for granted and I wish I would have done more and showed more appreciation for this everlasting love. I am sure mom is looking down at me now and saying, “Tom, I still love you”.

Mom, I love you. I am sorry it took me so long to realize how much I love you.  

Camping Tales

When I was Young the exciting thing to do during the summer school vacation was to sleep outside between the houses or in the back yard. Two or three of the neighborhood kids would have a campout. It was spooky and scary staying outside with no parents nearby. Of course, this was before your parents had to be concerned about rampant crime and many things could be done without that fear.

My next camping experience was after I started work full time and some co-workers were campers and they would invite me to go with them to camp up in the mountains. Fishing and camping over the weekend. What an experience. I never did like sitting around the campfire though. It seemed like the smoke from the fire always followed me and my eyes would burn, and my clothes would retain that smell of smoke for a long period.

My next camping experience was during basic training. You received a shelter half and you had to find a buddy so the shelter half could be combined to make a pup tent. The army didn’t call it camping though, they had their own name, it was called bivouac. Then In Germany they had maneuvers and had these large tents that held eight or ten troops. I can’t remember what kind of tent they called them.

My final tale was after I was married and had two sons. We had friends that had a van, and I became enthused about a camping van. I bought a delivery van from the company I worked for and converted it to a camping van. The kids would sleep outside in a tent and the adults slept in the van. It was a fun time of my life. Unfortunately, I became divorced, and the budget could not afford a van and camping.

After my life became more stabilized, we occasionally went camping. I would rent a RV for the weekend or the week. It was fun, but I did not enjoy driving the wide RV and the length of the RV. I learned to take a tranquilizer before I started the trip. It was fun and enjoyable though and it gave me many good memories.

My camping days are over now.

Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?
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Easter Thoughts

Here it is the Saturday before Easter. Dee and her granddaughter Danielle are busy in the kitchen making Easter pie. It is an Italian tradition to have Easter pie for the Easter meal. It is basically sausage, eggs, flour and a crust. We bought twenty dollars of ricotta cheese yesterday and Danielle is bringing the sausage and eggs. How many pies will they make? Too early to tell. I would guess four or more.

Reflecting on my past Easters. I was born and raised a Catholic. I remember the forty days of Lent. No eating meat on Fridays. During Lent having to fast, the last two meals could not be more than breakfast. You were supposed to give up something for lent. Just like making a New Years resolution. I gave up on both and no longer even think about them. Stations of the cross every Friday during lent. You were reminded many times you were a sinner, and it was a job to get to heaven. Dressing up for Easter service and a family meal after. The churches Easter guidelines have eased up quite a lot.

The Easter Bunny was around with the Easter egg hunt. You had to hard boil the eggs and then color them. Does anyone do that anymore? All I have seen is the plastic-colored eggs. Surely some of the eggs were hidden so well they weren’t found until the middle of summer.

Easter has become commercialized so much these days and the real meaning of Easter is becoming an afterthought. I just saw that the president just banned religious-themed designs from White House Easter egg art contest. So many American traditions are on someone’s agenda to change or remove them.

ANYWAY!

Inserted after our Easter Dinner. I am so blessed.