Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Makin' Memories

Boy-oh-boy, I got nothing this morning. It's gray as crap out there, the ceiling of the sky oppressively low, and I feel like we're all getting mashed by it which is really not how I like to think of the sky and its purpose.

I talked to my brother who lives out in Washington state last night and he insists that our Mother frequently talked to him about happy times in her life. I have been wracking my brain to try and remember some and although I can remember a few isolated moments, it's not a Big Picture kind of thing and so I wrote my brother this morning and asked him to relate a few of those happy times.

I do remember once when my mother was freshly divorced from the my evil stepfather and she met me and Mr. Moon in Key West and we had a good time. We really did. Lily was nine months old and just starting to walk and in fact, took her first steps in a restaurant down there and the whole staff was cheering her on as she drunken-toddler-walked across the floor. Also, Mother enjoyed a pina colada or two every evening and that, as far as I can remember, was her only drinking experience in my presence and in fact, she is adamantly opposed to alcohol consumption due to her years with my father, the Professional Drunk. But down there in Key West she threw caution to the winds and truly did enjoy those pina coladas. So that's a good memory. She was there for the best meal I ever ate which was some dolphin (the fish, not the porpoise) that Mr. Moon had caught and I fried and we ate it with nothing but delicious bread and had about 3/4's of a key lime pie for dessert. Fish, bread, pie. Yep. Best meal I ever ate.

That is one really fine unsullied memory and I'm glad I have it. She was happy on that trip.

I know she must have been happy when my baby brothers were born but mostly what I remember from those times is a darkness. She lost three babies in her life and every pregnancy was fraught with fear for her. I remember when she was about to have my brother Chuck and she showed me some new pink sheets she'd bought and told me to put those on the bed when she came home from the hospital if the baby lived. 
I was twelve years old.
Haha! Good times!

And so forth.

Well, I am not in mood to go back and dwell on any of it right now. I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for but some key lime pie would not hurt. The Canadians are coming in tonight and I have some more cleaning to do. This trip to Dog Island may turn out to be a little funky. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and then get cold. It probably won't be that cold to the Canadians and I'm sure this will be a main topic of conversation.

Maybe I'll make us a key lime pie while we're there. Why not? No TV, no wifi, and we certainly won't be swimming. Maybe pina coladas should be involved. Hell if I know.

Good morning.

Love...Ms. Moon





13 comments:

  1. I'm glad you have the few good memories to hold onto! To my great regret, I only have one memory of one of my grandfathers and it is of him yelling at me. And given the circumstances it was perfectly understandable (I was 5 or 6 and pushing his wheelchair and I must have scared him by bumping it) but it's sad that that's all I've got. The good news is that you will have many more happy memories of your life than she will have of hers, and isn't that a tribute to what you've made of yourself??

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  2. Good morning!

    That does sound like a good memory. Hope your day is sparkly.
    xo

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  3. I don't know why, but I find that men remember the good times more often than women do. Maybe they just completely blank out the bad memories.

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  4. With key lime pie and piƱa coladas, who needs tv or wifi? I say, do it.

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  5. its no surprise to me that your good memory of your mom coincides with memories of lily toddling. those pina coladas may have helped too.

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  6. Have fun with my countrymen! LOL! I bet it will be like a heatwave for them, aren't they from Alberta?

    I have a tendency to dwell on the shitty times. My mom used to say "Your good memories are way better than it was and your bad memories are worse than what it really was." Like I'm dramatic, or something. It's just been recently where I've been thinking of my mom in a different way, remembering the good stuff. A refocusing. I wish this for you.

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  7. I sure could eat a giant slice of key lime pie right now, with whipped cream. It'd go perfect with my cup of tea.

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  8. I just watched Beasts of the Southern Wild. Alligator fritters. I wondered what that tasted like. Made me think of a summer in Nassau when I was a child. Conch fritters, almost every day.

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  9. Angie Muresan's comment reminded me of how my now husband remembered his mother's reaction to the news of my pregnancy when I was 18, he was 25 and we were not married. He said she was happy about it. But her actual reaction was, "there's no point crying over spilled milk."

    My point is, some men/people remember what they want to remember.

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  10. Not to put too fine a point on my story, but he was 25 and living at home with said mother.

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  11. I tend to think of the bad memories but know that my parents has happy times. I am sure that your mother did as well. Maybe your brother will share some of those. I do know that we have to make our own happiness in whatever way we can.

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  12. "Haha! Good times!"

    -Giggled out loud at my desk.

    love you.

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  13. Oh, honey, sending you good energy and glad you have this unsullied glimpse of your mom.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.