Thinking of Dinky

This has been a strange month or so, breaking up my mother's house. So many of her treasures are up here in Maine with me now, but so many were left behind.

My mother had a talent, before the onset of Alzheimer's, of picking the most colorful, vibrant materials and creating a warm and quirky environment. She spent her life in busy, energetic pursuit of life.

She was widowed at 53, when my father, her first real love, died at 56, of cancer. She hadn't held a job in twenty seven years. Her first foray into the working world, as a kitchen lady in South Ocean Avenue's Junior High School, ended in misery, because her meticulousness was not considered efficient. She went on to be a reading aide volunteer in the classrooms of that school, and felt rewarded for a time.

My mother was such a saver! She managed, in her lifetime, to keep the house she and my dad had purchased together, to accumulate a good-sized bank account, and to travel to distant places, all without holding a regular job. Amazing mother. Awesomely "frugal"....she was the embodiment of Simple Living.

When my children were younger, Dink decided she would give her daughter and son-in-law a break, and took up babysitting on Friday nights. Oh, what a blessing! We could go out and stay out LATE, and sleep in on Saturdays. She made for some memorable weekends.




Just wanted to remember her on her death day. On this day two years ago, while I was visiting my granddaughter in Brooklyn, Dink left us. My sister Joanne, thank God, was there with her. I'm about to call my sis to remember with her the events of that day.

Dorrie was a good girl. She gave life her all. I miss her.