Mom woke me up

Maybe it was because Colleen Jessica and I were working on Mom's obituary yesterday.

But today atv220 Mom woke me up.

"TELL MY STORY' She kept saying. "I'm still here'

I said ok ok mom I will. Like I've said to her a thousand times before.

Mom talked to God more than anyone I know. About everything.

She wanted to be the example. If someone asked where she got her strength she always replied, "GOD"

She loved him. 

Her mother was ill when she was 7 and could no longer care gor her. So she and her younger sisters were placed at St Alohonsus orphanagecwhere she was raised by her grandfather's sisters. Nuns. SistercMargerite and Sister Agathonia. She was separated from her infant brother Adrian who went to live with two other great Aunrs Emma and Gertrude Albert.

Mom had to strong for her little sisters.

She received a good education in catholic schools. She was there even in High School and attended St Joseph's Academy and hadv8 years of voice and piano.

She told me stories of the chores. Laundry and cleaning.

She told me times of when she got upset and climbed over the wall and hid in St alphonsus bell tower across the street.

She told me about the other kids there who were also like brothers and sisters.

She told me everyone deserved to be loved.

So it was, she had a really good friend Kathy Benedetto in High School.

One day she met her handsome older brother Joe.

Joe was on the swim team a fine looking well built gentleman that she noticed in passing while with Kathy.

They started dating and by the time she was 19 they got married. Joe was 20.

Joe was 8n the Airforce and accepted into officer school so they moved to Sacramento.

After the military they moved back to West Virginia and had 4 children

There care a lot of stories in between there I will have to tell another time.

Mom lived to play though. I remember double jumping rope in front of our house in her red scooter skirt. She would also chase dad around the house with snow or ice balls shecsaved in the freezer from winter.

She canned and made rigs and taught in the community. She sang in minstrels with dad.then aftercwecall grew up shecwent back to college.

Shecworked for her brother at Albert's Landscaping. She didn't have a car sometimescsgevhad to hitch hike to school.she did a residency program in the hollers of West Virginia to learn about Appalachian culture. 

She graduated in 1988 but I couldn't go because I was pregnant with muchael. It was a high risk pregnancy because I had already had 2 muscartiages.after mom graduated she came to live with me. November 1988. She helped me rake care if Michael so I could go back to work midnight as a dispatcher.i was also a cop and EMT. So mom was there in case I got called out. My husband Chris was also a cop. 

I was still there during the days and evenings but some of that time was sleeping.

So mim would take michael for walks 8n thecwoods, for drives, to see animals.

Mom got a job at Dover Children's home as a co7nselir. Then she had cataract surgery.

She was living in an apartment in Eppingva short while but moved back in with us. Mist of the time sleeping on the couch.

Part two tomorrow. Moving to Lee.