I'll get by with a little help from my friends...

Suffering from insomnia these days, affords me a lot of time to "think".  Night time always seems to creep up on me and as tired as I am, sleep does not usually come easy. "Thinking" time for me can go either one of two ways, it can either be the start of my own demise or it can provide me a profound sense of counting my blessings.  I like it best when it goes the latter as getting too wrapped up in my own head is never very good for me.  Last week, I found myself in complete silence for quite some time.  For those who know me, I don't do silence.    Three kids usually does not afford me this "luxury" and when the silence creeps in, I'm left alone with my thoughts.  Insert the insomnia here.  Being that I am working very hard at being the master of my own destiny, a skill that certainly needed some brushing up on, I concentrated my thoughts on all that surrounded me.  As I sat and thought, the blessings began to surface.  At the forefront... this AMAZING group of friends I have.  Somehow along the way of this thing called "life", I've managed to surround myself with quite the group of loving, caring, funny, eccentric, kindhearted people.  I'm not sure how I got so lucky!  I sat and thought about the events of the week.  I started my weekend with my high school clan.  The 6 of us.  Moments where all 6 of us are together are special and rare and yet, there we were catching up like old times.  Our lives taking on all different directions and leading us to different states, but not a single one of us didn't relish those few short hours, all together to celebrate a milestone birthday.  At the forefront of our friendship, love.  40 years has seen us through trials, tribulations, losses and achievement and doted in our older and wiser bodies, we have this new found appreciation of the deep love that exists between us all.  Perhaps it's the tight squeeze hug, the all too knowing glance or the barrels of laughter exchanged between us.. but I do believe the mere sense of each of us trying to portray to each other, how much we truly love one another and how appreciative we are for our friendship is always forefront.  Possibly, we are much wiser now due to the life experiences we've had?  I think back to the trivial heartache we all shared in high school and fast forward to now and there isn't a single one of the 6 of us that hasn't experienced a true loss.  Life is fleeting.  We have learned that lesson the hard way.  So delved in appreciation I pray that the 6 of us have many more cherished moments all together.  I'm so proud that our friendships have stood the tests of time and that throughout the chaos of life, we can still sit amongst each other and have our "Now and Then" moments. Life is happening now.  Let's not wait too long before our next rendez vous ladies!

Then there are my girls.. Shannon and Sandy.  Shannon and I go way back.. as far back as dancing school can take us.  Most days she is my saving grace.  She can talk me out of my head like no other and most nights, is up right along side of me texting away.   When I think of Shannon, the words "honesty" and "loyal" always come to mind.  She is brutally honest and I say this in a good way.  If ever there were a person who needed this in her life, it'd be me.  Don't sugar coat, give it to me straight.  I like that much better.  It's real and it does not leave these gray areas to analyze.  Shannon and Sandy both knew my week would be filled with silence and decided to make sure I didn't have too much time to myself.  From bookings to Sandy making dinner, my days and nights were filled.  Yet, I couldn't mention Shannon without mentioning laughter either.  Quite possibly the best thing about our friendship (aside from our deep, meaningful conversations) is the laughter between us.  It sometimes becomes a competition between us who can make each other laugh more.  Shannon always wins hands down because sarcasm is a gift that I was not born with.  The nights we spend laughing are always my favorite.  I remember writing an essay senior year in High School.  We had to write about ourselves and our beliefs.  The final line of my essay was that "looks fade, time passes, too many goodbyes are said, but if you spend the time laughing in this life, I assure you no regrets will be had when it's your time to say good bye.  I believe that laughter can cure the world.  In the end.. I did it My Way."  Hmmm maybe I was a bit of a smarty pants back then because I still believe this to be true.  What feeds your soul more than laughing?  I'm grateful to have this gift in my life especially with Shannon.  She's always there.  Always.

And if by chance I should find myself with a split second of down time, I get the "Alyson" text.  No way, no how is she going to sit by and let me get all up in my head either.  She won't have it.  "Dinner will be ready at 5:00.. bring your tap shoes."  Al-O and I have been friends since birth.  Literally.  There isn't much we haven't been through together and oh how I enjoy our nights and the calmness they bring.  I think what I like best is how I don't have to think around Alyson and Adam.  I can just be.  Tune the world out and rank on the newest reality tv show out there (which most of the time I have never seen).  Being around Alyson reminds me of our childhood, Mom and Debbie times.. The good ol' days.  She too, brings this element of laughter into my life.  There isn't a time I don't spend with her that doesn't result in some type of wheezing, gasping laughter and usually some sort of video exposure.  She is pretty much the only other person besides Shannon I can be completely dead on honest with and she loves me just the same and celebrates my uniqueness.  How very lucky am I?  Oh my dear friend, how excited I am for you to be embarking on this new chapter in your life.  Motherhood.  

I could sit here for days and write about the amazing group of friends in my life.  Truthfully I could.  I'm fortunate and I am so blessed to be surrounded by such good people in my life that help to stifle the quiet times.  I'm doing much better at taking a breath, appreciating and honoring the relationships that I do have.  Life is too fleeting not to.

Mom, I found your robe last night.  I had put it in a safe place when the house fell apart and then forgot where that safe place was.  I needed it last night.  It still smells like you.  I fell asleep with it over my pillow.  How I wish I had you here to talk to.  So many things I want to say to you.  So many things I need to hear from you.  I wish more people would bring you up.. talk about you.  It's like no one wants to bring you up because they know it hurts, but it hurts not bringing you up either.  I need to hear the stories and I need to hear your name.  I don't want to forget a single moment.  I get so afraid I'll forget.  Most of all, I just miss our mother daughter friendship.  There are those moments that still sharply take my breath away.. the moments of disbelief.  The clock keeps ticking.. time keeps going.. you're still not here.  I love you, I hope you are safe and somewhere beautiful...xo

Blessings at 9 months

Tomorrow is the 14th.  I never thought I'd come to dread the 14th... but I do.  I despise it.  That day of the month will never be the same for me.  Tomorrow, it will have been 9 months since my mother took her last breath.  I still can't wrap my brain around it.  9 months.. How has so much time passed?  I can't believe I have lived 9 months without you Mom.  I think back to those days so often.. They say that as time passes, those last memories will fade and be replaced by the older good ones.  I hope that happens Mom because I still can't shake those last days.  Every time I think about you, those last days are at the forefront of my mind.  I force myself to push them down and remember the good times because there were so many.  Yet, I always think about your final days and how it was spent with all of us loving you.  I pray with all my heart that you felt us.  That you felt our love.  I spent those days taking you all in and giving you my heart and all the love that I had.  God, I hope you felt it.  I hope you heard our words.  I hope that on some level you were comforted knowing that you had raised us to be the people you always wanted us to be.  That on that day when the angels came, you looked down upon your entire family and knew at that moment, how very much you were loved.  Because you were loved Mom.. so very much loved.  That last day was so dreadful.  I pray that you were already on your way then... that you weren't really in your body anymore.. but on your way to the good Lord.  You gave us all an incredible gift that day.. on your dying day.. you were still thinking about us.  The words that keep ringing in my ears are the words of our dear friend, Father Najim.  As we sat on your final day and you kept coming back to us... amongst the anguish Father broke the silence, shook his head and said, "Look at her.  She's giving you a final gift.  She's giving you one last lesson in strength."  Those words comfort me Mom.  It was so typical of you to always think of us first.  Selfless.. always.  I hope you know how much you are missed.  We all miss you so much.  Your friends.. Debbie.. I can't look at her without thinking about your friendship and all the years you spent together.  When I see her face, I see you.  I'm not sure why.. but I feel like she is a continuation of you.  I'm looking forward to her coming home from Florida and spending some time with her reveling in our memories of you.  Julie, Rob, Amanda, Mikey.. the kids.. we all miss you so much.  There is always this empty space.. a hole in our hearts... you're the only one that can fill it.  The kids ask about you all the time.  They truly miss you.  Dad.  I'm so proud of him.  He's trying so hard.  I know he is... but Mom you took so many pieces of him with you.  I guess that's what happens when you spend your life with your one true love... 

Auntie Charlene's Fundraiser was this past Sunday.  Auntie is Dad's sister and is both Mom & Dad's best friend.  To give you a little history, Dad met Mom when she was hired at KFC.. yep she dated her boss!  (Go Mom!)  Auntie was her trainer.  They became instant friends and their friendship only flourished when Mom and Dad got married.  When I think about our childhood, those two were always up to something together.  Thelma and Louise.  I was blessed to have Auntie Charl named as my God Mother.. and you know what a God Mother means to an Italian family.. if you don't know then I'll tell you.  My Aunt has been there for every scrape, broken bone, broken heart.. every triumph and every tribulation.  She was my Confirmation Sponsor and she was there riding shotgun when I use to drive by the houses of  the cute boys in high school.  For as long as I can remember, she has been such an instrumental part of my life.  We've always had an inseparable bond and she has always been like a second mother to me.  There are so many memories I have of Auntie that it would be impossible to express them all.  She is just always there.  You can imagine how we felt when Auntie was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma less than two weeks shy of losing Mom.  As if our worlds weren't coming crashing down to begin with.. we learned that Auntie had cancer.  As sick as she was during Mom's final days.. she did not leave her side.  Beyond insufferable exhaustion from her own disease, she sat by Mom's side and made sure Mom knew how much she was loved.  Their bond could never be broken.

Auntie Charl took her diagnosis like a champ and stared it in the face.  With her family surrounding her she began her fight.  Treatments at Dana Farber, infusions, chemo, more infusions, more chemo and then the horrible bone marrow procedure.  Dad threw himself into being there for his best friend and sister.  He needed her as much as she needed him.  Together they'd make the Wednesday trips up and my cousins and Stephen would do the Saturdays.  Certainly there were tough days.. but she always managed to drag herself up out of them and keep fighting.  I had the opportunity to be with Auntie on the day she decided it was time to shave her head.  I knew how difficult this day would be for her and I was honored to be the one who took her.  That day turned into one of the best bonding moments for us yet.  We could have cried.. we could have totally SOBBED.  We didn't.  She sat there so brave in the chair, watched her locks fall to the ground and smiled... then we went to IParty for wigs!  Not just any wigs either.. LOL  We filled that day with love and laughter (frozen yogurt) and despite it being such a traumatic day, we turned it around and made it fun!  I'll cherish that memory always as it really stands out to me how very strong my aunt is. 

The days crept on and the trips to Dana Farber continued. All which lead us to yesterday.  For those of you who don't know about this cancer, it is incurable and has a very high rate of coming back.  I am thrilled to say that Auntie's cancer is sleeping and God I pray it sleeps for a long, long time to come.  Bills had begun to pile up adding to her stress when Danielle and Amy approached us about doing a fundraiser...it took off from there. Together as a family we banded together and made it happen!  With Amy, Danielle and Dad at the helm.. the Friends of Charlene Barron came to life!

I don't think ANY of us expected it to happen the way it did although.. I will say that I am not surprised.  My Aunt's generosity and good nature has touched MANY people on this earth.  There isn't a single person she meets, that doesn't remember her.  (I can attest to this as I can't tell you how many times we have been in public together and she doesn't just run into one person she knows.. but like 10...All of whom are always ecstatic to see her).  She has this zest for life and enthusiasm unlike any other.  You never see her without a big, beautiful smile plastered across her face.  Yesterday, I would say close to 400 people were in attendance at her fundraiser.  What a testament to such an amazing person!  There were so many friends and family there to support her I hope that her heart remains full for a long time to come.  THANK YOU just simply isn't enough.

Auntie, I know that these past 9 months have been the worst you've been through, for so many reasons.  I am so proud of the way you have courageously taken on this battle all while grieving Mom.  I often think that Mom knew there was no way for her to survive her disease and it was her time to go be at peace.  At the same time, I know she left this world wearing your heart on her sleeve and she is going to make damn sure she see's you through this.  Together as the amazing family that we are, we are going to Crush It with our angel guiding us from above and we will always be your CREW!  I love you from the bottom of my heart and I can't wait to be sipping NO PROBLEMS on the beach with you this summer!  We've got your back.. always!  Be brave ;)

So this my way of finding the blessings, amongst missing my mother dearly. 9 months..  Continue to guide us Mom and we'll continue to count every single blessing.  Each day is a gift friends.. cherish that gift!

Promise me you'll always remember,

You're braver than you believe,

Stronger than you seem

and Smarter than you think. 

But the most important thing is,

even if we're apart

I'll always be with you..

Guilt

Guilt - The fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime.  Synonyms - culpability, guiltiness, blameworthiness, wrongdoing, wrong.

That's a pretty crappy way to feel and yet so many of us live our lives riddled with guilt.  Guilt always seems to pop it's way into my life on an almost daily basis.  I am always feeling guilty for doing this or not doing that.  However, this morning as I was getting ready and before I woke the kids up for school, I thought about how I started this blog as a way for the children to look back and see how much I loved them throughout the years.  That someday I would direct them here, so they could be reminded of the love I've always had for them.  Somewhere along the line of the past year, the blog turned into a way for me to express the emotions of losing Mom.  Herein enters the guilt.  I started to get that pit in my stomach when I thought about the kids reading the past several posts and how our "Happy Times" have somehow been clouded by this overwhelming grief.  Grief over the loss of my mother, grief over the loss of my marriage.  Guilt.  It seems as though I have overcome a lot this past year.  I don't think I ever really appreciated the strength I had within me until now.  Not until being strong was the only thing I would allow myself to be and the only choice I had.  So in the name of "strength" I pushed that guilt back down and redirected my thoughts.  Yes this has been a tough year.  The toughest of my life... but here I am folks.  Still kicking, still breathing and with a whole hell of a lot of life ahead of me.  What a great lesson for the kids to read eh?  Yes, awful things happen in life and you have to pick yourself up, smile in the mirror, dust yourself off and move on.  Keep going.  We still have each other and we still have our memories of Mom and as long as there is life in me, I'll make sure that Hannah, Layla and Cam know that their Mother loves them and that I would do anything to keep us a happy family.  A new kind of normal but a normal just the same with love at the base of it.  Goodbye guilt.. I've got this.  The kids some day will appreciate the struggle inside me as they read how much I loved their grandmother and how difficult her journey was.  As they read how I gave my all to them and for them so that they could have better opportunity in this life.  They will be better people for it and just maybe they will learn a new lesson in regards to a mother's selfless love. (Thanks Mom)

So in the name of fresh starts.. here goes.  I can still write about the kids.. making sure to keep a journal of all our adventures of love together so that some day they can look back and have concrete evidence of how very much they were loved... but I can write about Mom too because there isn't any law that tells me I can't and because she was such a huge part of our lives, their lives and I want them to know the person she was, before she got sick. They deserve to know and her story deserves to be told.  Adios Guilt!  I got this! 

Here goes... 

Easter Weekend was last weekend.  The kids and I spent Friday coloring eggs and tidying up the house.  AH the house.  Did I mention that I have a gazillion dollars worth of ice dam damage?  That my entire room, bathroom and closet has been gutted and that I have been living downstairs?  That Hannah's room is missing a wall, the front entry way is missing walls and the sunroom floor has been ripped up and that my garage also has to be gutted?  Winter, you sucked!  Yet we are making the best of it!  My new saying these days is, "This wont be what breaks me.."  Although, my vacuum cleaner breaking last night.. THAT almost... almost was what broke me.  (People who know me, know what a catastrophic event this is).  Friday night, the kids went with their Dad and I took some "Me Time".  I'm starting to get use to that me time.  I never thought I would.  Saturday I had a wedding.   Erin Donovan and Eric Boyle married in Newport.  First let me just say that the kids and I pretty much watched that courtship from my bow window as Erin lived across the street and Eric up the street.  Watching Erin get married was bittersweet for me.  No child deserves this happiness more than she (yes Erin, you are still a child to me!)  Being able to see my sister, Alyson and Beth in the wedding was truly a gift... all three of them stunningly pregnant.  I don't remember being this excited for a wedding in a long time.  It was elegant and absolutely breathtaking!  Taking place at my old Alma Martyr, Salve's Ochre mansion while the reception was at Ocean Cliff.  The whole day was simply divine.  Yet, it is a new normal for me remember?  I kept looking around and taking it all in while thinking about how very much Mom would have loved to have been there.  She would have been beaming with pride for Erin as if Erin were her own daughter.  She would have been dressed to the nine's and the smile would have never left her face.  She would have torn up that dance floor with me and she would have enjoyed the night amongst her friends.  I can hear her laugh and I can see her face and exactly how she would have worn her makeup.  I can smell her perfume.  I'm SO VERY grateful for these happy images that come along every once in a while.  All too often these are not the images I see.  My heart ached for Dad as I know it was a tough night on him.  Riddled with the happiness for Erin and the loneliness for himself, as here we are at another happy occasion without Mom.

Sunday I rose early to go to church.  I met the family there.  These Sunday's without the kids at church make me insane.  I am so use to the kids being with me at all times, that I sometimes panic when they are not.  It's such a strange feeling.  I buried the feeling and prayed.  After church was Easter dinner with the family.  My heart ached without the kids and being around my nieces and nephew.  I buried it.  I'm getting quite good at putting on my "happy face".  Finally the time came for me to pick them up and I thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon of egg hunting and them opening their baskets.  The only downside to the day is that I learned my banana no longer believes.  CRAP!  If I could, I'd let her believe til she was sixteen.  I have to have a conversation with her.  I need alone time with her.  As sad as I am, I do look forward to the coming years with her as my sidekick making the magic happen for Layla and Cam.  I feel like this will be a new type of relationship for Hannah and I.  Where has the time gone?  (sigh)  Sunday night was the perfect cuddle night with my three cherubs as they were happy to be home and quite exhausted themselves.  So we jumped into bed, in my downstairs apartment (lol) and let the thoughts of our weekend take us into our dreams.

I thought of you today Mom.  (silly.. I think of you everyday)  Eddie Falco came across my newsfeed and I laughed.  Then I thought about James Gandolfini.  I laughed again.  Are you with him?  I had forgotten that he had passed and then all these thoughts came into my head.  (Do you see why I don't sleep?)  I started thinking about how much you loved to watch the Soprano's with the family and how EVERYONE thought you looked like Carmella.  It even became your nickname.  You ADORED it.  You use to get such a kick out of it!  (I can hear your laugh).  It was a thing.  Sunday nights at your house or auntie's and we would all pile around and watch.  Life was so fun then Mom.  So carefree.  So full of love.  Help me find these days again Mom.  I really need them to get by.  I miss you, love you and I hope you are someplace beautiful. 

Kids, I love you.  Remember that always. 
xo