January 2006 - Posts

• Chris in Paris

  Last night was pretty exciting for me. I went on the computer and saw that my grandson Chris who is in Paris was also logged on. I immediately IM�d him. We conversed for quite a while. He told me all about his trip and what a good time he was having. It�s hard to believe that we were able to visit like this with him being across the ocean and so far away. Absolutely amazing. Who would have thought that I would be able to do this in my lifetime. Why, I remember how thrilled we were when we got our first television! Again, amazing. This morning I checked to see if he had written anything in his blogs. Sure enough, there was information there for two days. Guess what. Both blogs were written in French. I would expect no less from him. I did the best I could to translate to English. Many years ago, I took Latin and Spanish in high school, so it helped a little. I think I got the just of what he was saying. I sent him an e-mail and hopefully he will get it. He said he was having a hard time e-mailing me, so who knows. Anyways, in the e-mail I translated what I thought he had written in his blogs. I�m sure it will give him a good laugh if nothing else. Hopefully, I will get to talk to him a few times (via e-mail or IM) while he is there. Of course, I will check to see what he has written in his blogs and try to figure out what he has written the best I can. Posted Jan 21 2006, 05:37 PM by dianastories with no comments

• Being a Grandma

  Today is very special. It is our grandson Christopher�s 25th birthday. He is our first grandchild. He does not live close by any more, but he is in my thoughts daily. I talk to him either by phone or via the computer very often so it does not seem like he is so far away. Soon he will be going off to Paris. So hard to believe that he can travel that far all on his very own. I remember so very clearly the day my husband and I were told that we were going to be grandparents. At the time, I was enrolled in a class at our local college and I had to prepare a paper about a personal experience. I chose to tell the story about my feelings about becoming a grandparent. The first part of the story entails how we were told we were to become grandparents and the second part relates to how I felt. I called my paper �Mixed Emotions�. I would like to share the second part of my story with you. Mixed Emotions When everything had quieted down and everyone had gone their separate ways, my husband and I sat alone for a while and talked about this new role in our lives; being �grandparents�. We talked about the happiness a little one would bring, how each of us felt about being a grandparent, babysitting, how Christmas gift opening would be fun again, and wondering how Cathy would look with a big tummy. All at once, tears were rolling down my checks and I started to cry. My husband smiled and said �I thought you wanted to be a grandmother�. I told him that I did and they were happy tears not sad ones. I was so filled with emotion that I just had to cry. My next thought was �I must be getting old. Funny, I don�t feel old.� I asked my husband if he now would feel old. Of course, his reply was negative. But so many times when a grandmother is shown on television or movies, she�s a little old grey-haired lady, her hair in a bun at the back of her head, with a long dress sitting in a rocking chair. I certainly didn�t feel that way! How did I feel? Happy, I guess. But sad too. All of our children would soon be gone from the nest, from our protection, and our role as parents would appear to have ceased or at least taken a �backseat�. I wonder if others feel this way; happy and sad all at the same time. I went to bed very happy that night thinking about a little grandson or grand daughter. If you have to grow older to attain that pleasure, I guess it�s okay. Before you know it, we will be full-fledged grandparents; babysitting and all. Back to the present day; being a grandparent in my opinion is so very special. I thought so twenty five years ago and I still do. Any mixed emotions that I may have had have been gone for a long time. After having six grandchildren, and hopefully some day, being a great-grandparent, I know that this role of grandmother is something that I truly love and enjoy and wouldn�t trade it for anything in the world. Posted Jan 15 2006, 01:19 AM by dianastories with no comments

• Sioux City Sue

  While listening to the radio in my car this morning, I heard a song that I have not heard in many years. It made me smile and immediately brought me to thoughts of my paternal grandfather. More than likely, anyone reading this has probably never heard of this song. It is called �Sioux City Sue�. Never heard of it, have you? Well, it goes something like this: Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue Your hair is red, your eyes are blue I�d swap my horse and dog for you Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue There ain�t no gal so true As my Sweet Sioux City Sue I need to tell you a little about my grandfather. He married my grandmother who was sixteen years of age when he was thirty-two (an arranged marriage). Needless to say, by the time I came along, he was well into his sixties. His mother came from Ireland and his father was second generation English. He was fair skinned with blue eyes, very tall and slim. I don�t remember him ever having too much to say. He was quiet, soft spoken, and very serious, but I heard stories that he could be quite the tyrant. (I didn�t know that side of him.) My father�s family lived in Upstate New York close to the Canadian border where my grandfather had a farm. We would visit him every summer as I was growing up. There was no running water, inside facilities or electricity. As children, my brother, sister and I thought it was great. My grandfather lived to be 86 outliving two wives; my grandmother who passed away when I was a month old and his second wife. He lived alone for many years with his dog �Tony� as his companion. Now that�s another story. Grandpa named all his dogs �Tony�. He would fix two plates for dinner; one for him and one for Tony. He said he named his dogs �Tony� because they were high-toned. I remember my Dad telling about him asking how things were going after he married his second wife. Dad said all he had to say was �She�s a helluva good cook�. Like I said, a man of few words. Getting back to the song �Sioux City Sue�, Grandpa would just laugh which he did not do too often when he heard that song. He couldn�t imagine swapping a dog and horse for anyone. I guess he had his priorities. Now, if you ever hear this song, which is very unlikely, but you just never know, you may recall this blog and the story about another member of my family. Posted Jan 06 2006, 11:11 PM by dianastories with no comments

• Another Little Ditty

  A while ago, I wrote about my Dad. For some reason or other, the last few days, I cannot get one of his little �ditties� out of my head. Again, it is just a silly little thing. Why it has popped into my head lately, I don�t know. It�s like when you hear a song on the radio and it won�t leave you. Well, I certainly didn�t hear this on the radio. I have never heard any of the little songs, riddles etc. that my Dad taught us. Maybe he made them up. Who knows. I will share this one with you. I took my girl to a restaurant The best one on the street She said she wasn�t hungry But you oughta see her eat She had ragu, a big fat stew Chicken and some eggs Apple sass, a-spar-a-grass Two eggs on top of toast She said she wasn�t hungry But boy was I surprised Cause I thought I�d die When she asked for pie Cause I had but fifty cents It appears that the words are misspelled, but that�s the way this little singsong goes. Maybe it put a little smile on your face. Hope so. Posted Jan 04 2006, 09:56 PM by dianastories with no comments

• Remembering 2005

  Well it�s New Year�s Day, 2006. The year has sure gone by quickly. It seems like I just got used to writing 2005 and now I will have to start all over again and remember to write 2006. I have been trying to remember some of the eventful things that have taken place in my family this past year. Some have been very good, some bad, some sad, and others just seemed to stay the same. My husband continues to work at all his various jobs: security for the Knights of Columbus, bailiff for Cicero Town Court, handyman for a local credit union, and directing traffic where needed. I guess not much change with him. I thought he was going to retire. Daughter Cathy continues to work at the Emergency Room at St. Joe�s, but now works the 9:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. shift. Don�t get to see her as often as I like, but get to at least talk to her once a week or whenever I can catch up with her. Also, after 26 years of marriage, her divorce was finalized. This past spring, she gave us a little scare when she was rushed off to the hospital because they thought she had a heart attack. Received the phone call from our son as we were leaving the Bahamas. Was not a fun trip home. Daughter Susan is re-married now and in the past year her husband�s son Brian came to live with them. They are all happy about the move. On the bad side, Susan was employed as a Pastry Chef and hurt her shoulder and neck at her place of employment. She had an operation on her shoulder, but continues to have problems with her neck. Is currently unemployed. Son Butch is doing well. He works for a Fortune 500 company and was one of eleven people chosen to participate in a worldwide Business Formation Process. He also purchased a 1971 Red Corvette to add to his many toys. Grandson Christopher made a big decision this year. He decided to change his career path, leave the Science world and study linguistics. Good move Chris. Hopefully, next year when he is in Graduate School, he will be closer to home so we can get to see him more than once a year. Grandson Richard graduated college this past year. His love of cooking will probably at this time be used for entertaining family and friends. As for the business end, he has been asked to join a family business. Good for you Rich. Grand daughter Dana has recently become employed by a local Credit Union. They love her beautiful smile. She has her first apartment and this past summer met Matt. Matt fits right in with our family. An excellent choice, Dana. Grand daughter Lyndsey went on her first date to a semi-formal dance. We shopped for a dress, shoes, etc.; had a great time. She started High School this year. Before you know it, she too will be off to college. Grand daughter Michelle became a teenager this year. She's now thirteen. She continues to take her dancing lessons and sings in the school chorus. She now has a brother in the house that she can tease, boss around, and even play games. Now we have Kaysey, our youngest grandchild, who is getting bigger by the minute. She is now very involved in Basketball. We watched her play and she�s pretty good. She is also a very, very neat little girl and takes pride in the appearance of her room. Everyone last year laughed when she asked for a new mattress pad for her bed. Seemed perfectly fine to me; we bought it. We have our two in-law children, Wendy and Kevin. Wendy continues to be employed at the same place and travels out of town every so often not by choice. But as long as she has her Dunkin Donut coffee, she�s good to go. Kevin started his own �Sound� business this year. He named it S&K Sound Productions (Susan and Kevin). He has lots of �gigs� and it seems to be working out just fine. If things don�t seem to be going just right for him, put on an Elvis CD. It�ll perk him right up. I�m guess I�m last. Early this past year, a long time friend of mine and I traveled to Florida to visit another friend that neither of us had seen in over thirty years. It was a great trip. My husband and I also did some other traveling to Florida, Georgia and the Bahamas. On the down side, my cousin Lee passed away this past summer. He was a favorite of mine and a special friend. Also, I came down with shingles and I don�t mean the kind that you put on a roof. They stayed with me for over two months (not a happy time). This year my husband and I celebrated our 51st New Year�s Eve together. Remember now, I was just fifteen when we met. I guess this turned out to be more of a news letter than a blog. Well if nothing else, I can look back at it and remember the year 2005. Here's looking forward to 2006. Happy New Year to all. Posted Jan 01 2006, 11:54 PM by dianastories with no comments