3 July 2010: Moses: The Next Generation

"We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies." ~Shirley Abbott

I went to our annual Family Reunion this year. I haven't been in several years and the older I get the more I am drawn to going. Why is that when we are younger, we can't be bothered with all the stories and history and as we get older, we can't get enough. Since I lost my mother to cancer at such a young age, I don't have the kind of access that many do and it makes me angry sometimes. As if my mother being taken from me at 17 wasn't bad enough, I sometimes feel like I have been robbed of our history. But then I realize, I have removed myself from it more than anything. My uncles and aunts are still around. My older siblings have more historical knowledge and stories. So as I get older, I recognize my place in this maze that makes up my family. I want to know more about the stories (good and bad). I need to understand where they came from to know where I came from.

So the photos above are of the next generation. The young ones who don't have much of a choice about being at the party since their parents are there and they are having a great time as children can in most situations; but they also don't understand how important it is for them to engage in our family now as they will likely drift away for a bit as many of us do before we return eager to know the history. I loved seeing the kids who have grown up in front of me and the newest members that I had never met. We are all a part of the history, our great grandparents...grandparents ...parents...siblings...
cousins. The Middle Eastern/Lebanese family genes mixed with a plethora of other heritages have created the faces you see above and aren't they just gorgeous!

The Moses clan has come a long way complete with some bumps, bruises, laughter, tears of joy and sorry, successes, failures, but most importantly love and connection.

9 May 2010: Happy Mother's Day / Snow Day

It's Mother's Day, that special day that we celebrate our moms or mom-like people. Did I mention this day was in May. Yeah, well this year Mother Nature was laughing at us in Central NY. Laughing so hard, she was crying but since it was so cold her tears become snow! There was one point this morning that it was almost a white out. Not funny Mom!

I made homemade sauce and meatballs for my mother in law because she wanted spaghetti and meatballs for her special Mother's Day meal. I took this picture as I started the sauce yesterday morning as it made me think of my mom and her Saturday morning tradition of making sauce and meatballs. Everything from the cans to the wooden spoon to the vat of tomato goodness slowly cooking on the stove all day long. YUM! And a picture of my mom, her mom and some of her siblings - it is one of my favorites!

10 May 2009 Photo(s): Foxy Mama

On the way home yesterday from a long day of looking at bathroom sinks, fixtures and medicine cabinets, I noticed a red fox sitting on a log right behind our house. I practically slammed on the brakes and did a U turn and I think I scared Bill a bit. Anyway, when we got home from stalking them on the side of the road for several minutes, we found a mama fox and her 2 or 3 babies living under the shed behind our house. We now understand why Mona has been sniffing around up there so much.

I captured a few pictures which where techinically taken yesterday, but I figured what better way to celebrate Mother's Day than a mama and her babies. Here's to all of you mother's out there...Happy Mother's Day! And a special thought goes out to my Mom...I still miss her everyday!

8 May 2009 Photo: Make A Wish...

Is is a weed or is a flower? I suspect the answer to this question has a lot to do with your age. As a child, how many times did I pick dandelions to bring to my mommy? And like a good mother, she hugged me and put them in a little glass. I was so proud of myself.

As I grew older, dandelions became the object in a chant. Holding your thumb under the head of the dandelion you would say, "Mama had a baby and her head popped off" and then flick the "head" off. Now, was it the mama's head or the baby's head? Either way, pretty disturbing.

As an adult, I guess I should be annoyed by this WEED. They grow everywhere, the lawn, the flower beds, etc. I could do without the dandelions in my flower beds but the ones in the lawn don't bother me. And every once in a while, when they turn to seed, I still pick one up...blow...and make a wish.

Here are a couple of fun sites that have "stuff" about dandelions and wishes. http://dailyapple.blogspot.com/2009/04/apple-379-dandelions.html
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewpoetry.asp?AuthorID=83921&id=229526

28 February 2009 Photo: Double Bubble

I remember going to the grocery store with my mother as a kid. We always went on Fridays to Big M, Big G or Almacs. I was the youngest and everyone else was in school so I had my mom all to myself. Excitement erupted when she would give me some change to go get a double bubble gum ball. My favorite color was red! What was yours?

3 January 2009 Photo: Reflections

The first thing I saw when I walked outside this morning, was glittering snowflakes coming down. Not a particular surprise in Central NY in January; however, I decided to grab the camera as Mona was outside doing her business. I took a few photos and my favorite was the one above where the flash created these orb like images around the wind chime. It has me reflecting on family and friends who have moved on from this world, but I still feel connected to them.

The Christmas season is always a bittersweet time in our family because my mom's birthday was December 22nd or 25th (a story for another time), the last time she was home from the hospital for a day was Christmas eve 1986 and today (3 January) is the day my mom passed away 22 years ago. This year was difficult for the family again as my brother, Angelo, has been in the hospital for a month dealing with complications from his diabetes. He was not able to spend Christmas eve with us this year but we went up to see him in the hospital on Christmas day. He is doing much better as I write this post and here's hoping that he will be out of the hospital soon because I know he misses his daughter and she misses him!