The Friday Five - In Memoriam

2. September 1918 - 14. November 2013

A week ago Thursday evening, my Ma quietly passed away. She was 95 years old. Five things about Ma

1. She graduated from East Boston High School in 1935 at the age of 16. She was the shortest girl in the whole school and at school assemblies and functions she led the entire school into the auditorium.

2. There were only two ways of doing things. The wrong way and Ma's way. Even in your own home, Ma would tell you when it was time to clear the table and do the dishes. I have no doubt she's whipping Heaven into order.

3. When she was a kid, someone told her Chinese food was made with cat meat. She never ate Chinese food, and she wasn't fond of cats. She was also superstitious and would cringe when Ink would walk past her.

4. Ma cured a headache with a bowl of water and a tablespoon of olive oil. Italians will understand the ritual.
(-;

5. She loved her home and cooking and cleaning. She was an immaculate housekeeper.(I didn't inherit this gene). Curtains and bedspreads were changed twice a year with the Spring and Fall cleaning. The living room furniture was covered in plastic. She would go to bed early, right after supper after the kitchen was cleaned. She'd get up at 3am or 4am to do her housework before she left for work at 7 am. She would spend weeks and days before family celebrations cooking and cleaning (and also working in the factory). If she got tired when we had company over, she'd excuse herself and go to the bathroom to take a power nap. It was her little secret we weren't supposed to know.

Some of you know that in 2006, I became Ma's chauffeur and started a blog called Whine and Cheeze to find the funny in dealing with elderly parents and Old People's Disease (OPD). One of the places Ma loved to go was The Mahket and because some of you really enjoyed the Mahket stories, here are five of them. And yes, Little Debbies are involved. Enjoy!

http://whine-and-cheeze.blogspot.com/2009/09/pogo.html

http://whine-and-cheeze.blogspot.com/2009/08/crackers.html

http://whine-and-cheeze.blogspot.com/2009/04/mahket.html

http://whine-and-cheeze.blogspot.com/2009/02/hip.html

http://whine-and-cheeze.blogspot.com/2006/12/market-basket-expedition.html

Ma's obituary is here

Well, Ma, I miss having cups of tea with you (and Marie (my MIL)), I miss your ravioli, eggplant Parmigiana, and pizzelle (Italian waffle cookies). I even miss butting heads with you, but I don't miss the excursions to the Mahket. Givadien.