Moms? Readers share special memories
Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if there is any doubt how special the day is to most children and families, readers only have to look at the number of memorials running in Sunday’s paper.
I think you will find it very clear that moms hold a special place in the heart of many people.
This column was inspired by what my siblings and I decided to do to honor our late mother, Doris Lorraine Walker.
Like most people, the pandemic opened the doors to Zooming with family, and we virtually get together on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Wednesdays are game night, and on Saturdays we have a cook-off to see who makes the best meal.
For Mother’s Day, we decided that each of us would make the favorite meal that our mother once cooked for us.
I am making fried pork chops, rice with brown gravy and corn on the cob. I am going to add a pumpkin pie for dessert because my mother made one for me every year at Thanksgiving because I didn’t like sweet potato pie.
On Saturday while we eat, we will celebrate her memory and probably laugh like crazy as we revisit our moments with her.
And that got me to wondering about my readers and their mothers.
I reached out to a few readers and asked the following question: Do you have a special memory of your mother or a special memory as a mother that you would like to share on Mother’s Day?
Here is what those who answered by my deadline had to say.
Mary Beebe, West Haven: “All Mother’s Days were special with my three kids and their different gifts. I remember my younger son would pick flowers, dandelions, thinking he was giving me a pretty flower. I used to put it in a jar of water and sit it on the windowsill so he would see it.”
Loretta Parisi, South Meriden: “I love being a grandmother and a mother. But if I had known how much fun being a grandmother is, I would have done that first.”
Sue Stacey, East Haven: Sue remembered her mother, Ruth Connors, first working in the dining hall at Yale University before moving to East Haven and becoming a librarian. “She was great. She was our rock. She was the best. I miss her terribly.”
And Sue said she had to mention her grandchildren, Bryce, Madeline and Kendall, who will soon turn 14, 13 and 11, respectively. “They are wonderful. They melt my heart.”
Leslie White, New Haven: She remembers moving her mother, Thelma Jenkins, from Iowa 45 years ago.
“She lived with us for 20 years, helping to take care of our three boys. My mom was the best cook. She made the best yeast rolls; everybody loved them.”
Leslie also joked that she
had the best and most patient husband, who let his mother-in-law live with them that long.
Robert Pantalone, Woodbridge:
Seeing an old friend inspired a favorite childhood memory of his mother.
“I used to build tree houses in Amity with Craig Grant, who lives in Westville. It was about 50 years ago. The trees were about 20 to 30 feet high. I remember my mother always made us pancakes every morning before we went about our chores.”
Neena Miles, Norwalk: Miles shared a memory of her late daughter, Amanda Palumbo.
“My late daughter was
larger than life. She was a Trekkie and we all laughed at the crazy things she did. She was wonderful inside and out. Very loving, very caring.”
Neena said although her daughter died of cancer when she was just 43, she has come to realize, “They never leave you. They stay alive in your heart with feelings and in your mind with memories.”
Paige Williams, Branford: For Paige, a special memory was when her mother, Alice Williams, sprang into action to save her brother Jon when he accidentally cut an artery.
“I was about 5 and half so he would have been about 2 and half years old.
He was my favorite thing in the world. I believe she saved him because she knew how much I loved him. It was a gift of love to me.”
Donna Vinci, Stratford: “They’re all my favorite. But there’s one small memory that sticks in my mind for some reason . ... Matthew was maybe 21⁄2 years old. I took him to the playground, which was deserted except for us. We spent the entire afternoon there by ourselves playing together, up and down on the structures, laughing, making funny faces, running, jumping . ... He kept going down this little kiddie slide and landing in the sand pit, and by the end he had sand absolutely everywhere. It was so much fun. As we were getting ready to leave, and I was kneeling down to zip up his jacket, he threw his arms around me. We sat there for a long minute, and he said, ‘big hug.’”
Carole Udain, Stamford: My mother, Helen Greenberg Gewirtz, was warm, smiling, very pretty and wholesome. She was known for her delicious cakes and pies, which she baked daily.”
Carole, who had polio as a child, recalled the day she was able to march down Fifth Avenue along with her mother and Girl Scout troop on Armed Forces Day. Her mother later became the oldest justice of the peace in Connecticut.
“Maybe she married one of you reading James Walker’s column today. She always had me take the picture of the bride and groom as they said their vows. And she always added: ‘Never go to bed angry. Smile, and make up.’”
And I will end this column with Fran Aquarulo, Branford: “On this Mother’s Day, I would like to give a shout out to Mary, the mother of Jesus. It’s one lovely, long memory of her being there for me.”
To all the wonderful moms out there, happy Mother’s Day.
Moms? Readers share special memories.