It's been almost a month since I posted last, my mother's 78th birthday is this coming Saturday, and I'll bring cupcakes for a (hopefully) candlelit vigil that day at dusk.
It's October, the month when the veil between our worlds, Mom's and mine, thins a little. That belief comforts me.
This entry was posted on October 4, 2016, in contemplation, grief, journey, magic, Transitions and tagged comfort, longing, Magic, Mum.
Do I want you to become a vehicle for my grief? Some days, yes. Like Fridays, the day of the week my mother died. Seven weeks today. I was reading an article on the Sabbath that Oliver Sacks wrote shortly before he died, and besides the fact that I agree with him about keeping a Sabbath, I also thought of how much my mother would like the idea that she died on a Friday, the eve of the Jewish Sabbath. Blog, we both know how much Rhoda loved all things Jewish and Judaica. We even talked about how possibly her Davis grandfather, Frank, may actually have been a Davidovich at one time. But I'm straying off-topic.
The point here is I don't always know what to write in you, so many times I just don't. Then I remember I have dozens of sketchbook journals I could cull through to share bits and pieces of here, which I may consider eventually, although I do like something fresh.
Oh sure, when I'm driving or walking or listening to music and my imaginary conversations with myself start, the ideas flow, the words spill all over, but I usually have no way of transcribing until I get home, and you know how that goes. By then, I've moved on to something else and the solitary act of writing is neglected. It's hard to write, and I don't want to turn into a blogger who believes her mission is to teach others or enlighten them or constantly be a source of wisdom. I just want to share a few words now and then so that someday, somewhere little bits of my life and the lives of those who have touched mine will be noticed. And maybe remembered. Because none of us want to be forgotten.
This entry was posted on September 9, 2016, in contemplation, grief, writing and tagged love, what matters.
This entry was posted on August 21, 2016, in contemplation, Give us this day, journey, morning and tagged what matters, Wisdom.
Since my mother's death, every Friday eve around the time she died, I do a vigil. This past Friday, there was a light rainfall, our gardens were iridescent in the moonlight, and the fresh air and scent of the rain just felt so good…so I did it outside in my nightie, standing with my arms wide open and looking at the sky. Sometimes my tears get stuck so I let the rain fall on me to wash away some of my grief.
This entry was posted on August 12, 2016, in grief, love, mother, Transitions and tagged longing, loss, Mum, what matters.
A person is a sum of many parts, of all the lives they've touched. There is no all good, all bad, we are many spirits interwoven into one giant one. My mother had a giant spirit. Personality Plus. A lot of heartache and drama; also a lot of joy even if she wasn't always aware of it. And sometimes we weren't.
But looking back, I remember the way my two year old son's eyes lit up, overjoyed to see my parents walking towards us at the county fair — a surprise trip from Cape Cod to Vermont.
My mother and I fought a lot, said cruel things, but there was always love, a connection that I couldn't break no matter how hard I tried to break the apron strings. Heck, I'm still tied to my Dad's and I've never even seen him in an apron.
But my mom. I was lucky to have her. I had her for fifty more years than she had her mother. She was seven when my grandmother Lottie Mae died. It defined her life and it defined ours. She was fierce, possessive, couldn't let anything go, perhaps because she lost the most precious thing to a child at a very young age.
This entry was posted on August 10, 2016, in journey, love, memories, mother, relationship and tagged longing, loss, Mum, what matters.
Rhoda Jane Hurley died the evening of Friday, July 22 surrounded by many loving family members. To be honest it was a shock. She was very much like the Energizer Bunny, always rallying and roaring back stronger than ever. Not this time.
She was born in Claremont, NH on October 8, 1938 to Lottie Mae and Clifford A. Densmore, the fourth "surprise" with much older siblings. Her fondest childhood memories were of her mother's beautiful home and gardens, and she used to reminisce about the fresh garden vegetables — tomato sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, radish and butter sandwiches and gorgeous salad plates her mother would lay out. She had a pet pig, who would meet her after school and she was allowed to shoot at cans for recreation. Her parents' deaths in her eighth year haunted her all of her life, but she persevered, raised by her older sister, Carol, and traveled to a bigger world than Claremont. Her sister was married to a Navy man, and they lived on Chicago's North Shore in a striking Art Deco apartment building at 5200 Sheridan Road for a few years. When she was 11, she traveled by plane to her maternal Grammy Angela's in Maine, a place she felt cared for and well-loved. She had deep roots throughout New England, with ancestors having fought at Bunker Hill and in Shay's Rebellion.
Rhoda finished her school years in Rhode Island, graduating from No. Kingstown High School in 1956, where she was known as "Rhody," a swell gal with a terrific personality, the nicest girl in the senior class or any other class. Just a blue-eyed blonde, never known to wear a frown, her sunny disposition won her many friends. She planned on entering the nursing field, but met a dashing young Marine named Bill Hurley at the Hingham Marine Barracks pool, and nursing school became a distant memory. Roller coaster rides at Nantasket Beach, followed by Bill's many trips to RI while courting, led to marriage on January 16, 1957 in E. Greenwich, RI. They had no real honeymoon, but in March of 1957, they were off to NC and the journey began.
Within six years, there were many moves to various bases throughout the South. Four daughters were born, and her husband was off to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean for the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other assignments. Through it all, she held home base together while her husband did his job, all this by the age of 25, with four girls, ages 5 and under.
In Quantico, life settled down for a bit, with Bill back on base. She pursued Altar Rosary, ceramics classes and decorating her home as the girls grew a bit.
In the summer of 1967, after a Cape Cod vacation, Bill moved her to a house in a brand new Hyannis neighborhood. Within a week, he was off to Vietnam and Rhoda settled into an unfinished house with her girls, ages 3 through 9. Throughout his "tour," she set about finishing their house, had a midnight sled ride one snowy night with neighbors down the only hill around, and set about worrying about Bill during the Siege of Khe Sahn while caring for their daughters. Her girls were her life and she particularly loved their school vacations when they were home with her. The winter of 1968, she finally had that honeymoon in Hawaii with Bill when he had his R and R from Vietnam. When he returned for good that summer of 1968, the next move was to Ohio Steel Country to run the Marine Recruiting Center. It was the turbulent times of Kent State and Vietnam protests, but after two years they returned to the Cape for a couple of years so Bill could finish college, before it was off for another tour, this one in California. In 1974, they returned to the cape for good, with Bill doing tours of duty that didn't require moving the family.
Her daughters' friends all loved her as she did them, particularly Holly Murzic Romotsky, who predeceased her in 1986. She swapped her car for Holly's 1960's battered Rambler wagon one weekend so daughter "Patti Ann" and her friend Holly, would have a safe, reliable vehicle to travel off-cape in. She knew what she was in for and loved to tell the story, as sometimes you had to lift the Rambler's hood and use a wrench on the choke to get it to start.
Rhoda was a great storyteller, and she could tell you a good one, full of colorful details if you had the time to listen. A smart, independent woman with a sharp tongue and a memory like an elephant's, she had a sense of humor, loads of personality and was known as a "hoot," "feisty," and a "cool lady." She adored dogs, particularly Bucky, her beloved Obi (with his own room and loveseat), Joey, Bob, and numerous Sullivan canines. It was a mutual admiration society.
It was hard letting go of her daughters as they left home, but fortunately there were grandchildren to sustain her for a few more decades.
Niece Debbie recalls wild times — "one that immediately comes to mind includes flying dishes," and her mother, Patsy, Rhoda's older sister — but also healing times. "Reconnecting with your mother was a wonderful thing. It helped me in dealing with my mother's death, and it helped with some of my unresolved anger. I love your mother as if she were my own, but without the hurtful baggage." Spirited Densmore girls, flying dishes, sisterly shenanigans, but always love in the end.
A few years before she died, Rhoda reminisced, about Betsy's birth, life in Chicago, her mother's garden, her own beautiful penmanship and how daughter Kathleen's penmanship was just as beautiful. She'd cry sometimes, saying how much she was going to miss her children when she was gone.
Besides her daughters Patricia (mate Marty Gravelle), Kathleen, Jacqueline (Patrick Sullivan) and Elizabeth (mate Vincent D'Olympio), Rhoda leaves behind her grandchildren Anthony and Molly Pizzo, Sophie Larios, Helen, Mairead and Albert Hurley, Meredith and Caroline Sullivan, great-grandson Isaac, niece Debra Coderre Woodman, and numerous friends and relatives.
The last word: If Rhoda were reading this she'd snap, "That's not the way it happened!" and she'd proceed to set the record straight. The story never ends. We miss you, mama.
**We always pronounced it Mum or Mumma.
This entry was posted on August 2, 2016, in Family, love, memories, mother and tagged grief, longing, loss, Mum.
I haven't had a deliberate moon practice in a bit, but the Wolf Moon of 2015 seems like a good starting point for me, particularly as it relates to protection of self, hearth, and family (my idea of it anyway). I have a huge gold glass ashtray from my mother's smoking days and it's perfect to burn my sage in, as well as slips of paper I've written on — guilt, judgment, fear, clutter and doubt. These are things I am looking forward to releasing in the coming year — a huge task for me, but if I were going to have Colleen do a phrase for me, it would be what I remind myself when faced with big ideas — "baby steps." Mother, may I? And a resounding "yes" is what I hear.
This entry was posted on January 5, 2015, in contemplation and tagged Creative living, Persona, transformation.
from Alexandra Franzen's post, sent there from another Cape Codder's blog (she packs some good leads) — rather funny, because it's a topic I revisit constantly when I venture online.
Not jealous of this girl though, only happy and proud — my daughter's off on solo travels this minute en route to Bali for 6 weeks. A huge thank you to my Squam pal, Cheryl, for hosting her in San Francisco before today's departure.
This entry was posted on September 30, 2014, in Cape Cod, contemplation, For the love of language and tagged quotes, Self-discovery.
I was born on a Monday and I always love it when my birthday falls on a Monday. Just finished the cake with my sweetie, my dad and my daughter here. My mom's down the street, probably enjoying the cake I sent home to her with my dad. 9:09PM another year turns for me. I love that my birthday month is the same month as the Jewish New Year. There's lots of love going around on a birthday if we are fortunate. I am.
This entry was posted on September 15, 2014, in abundance, Family, joy, love and tagged family, home, Magic.
I've been blowing through countless mysteries in between the non-fiction I read. Books are my escape, my solace, part of my journey and healing when I am scared and uncertain. They are my self-soothing default (besides prayers) when I am struggling with what is beyond my control (essentially everything that is not myself).
When Women Were Birds has been on my must read list for some time (as are Williams' other books). Her words and Rebecca Solnitt's resonate profoundly with a deeper part of myself that I've neglected for the past several years, and it's time for another resurrection. It's that part of myself that recognizes a sacred path, and that I will be okay if I can trust. Trust is so scary when there is that constant fear of loss.
I start drafting blog posts, and then question how much of my monkey mind I want to share. So I will leave you with another quote today, one I discovered on Milla's blog (I was familiar with Terry Tempest Williams from listening to NPR for so many years but have yet to read any of her books!).
Because of this quote (and a few others), I'm not feeling as resistant to the word Crone these days. Besides men at this stage of life hanging together are sometimes referred to as "cronies!" And I think of myself more and more as Crow. I love Crow.
So, a quote for you and a link for you also. Don't know when I'll have time to read her blog, but I do love that she practices NVC, and has some great new-to-me words (like "destuckification") in her personal glossary.
This entry was posted on September 8, 2014, in contemplation, For the love of language, joy, voice.