Mom's oldest cousin died last week, making her, I believe the last surviving Stromberg of her generation. She keeps asking me why God won't take her all ready. She doesn't want to be a burden, the few friends she has left don't drive so she can't see them...and even when I offer to drive them to lunch, she says it is too exhausting for her. She does come to life when she sees folks outside of us though, I wish she would want to go out,but it is hard. Sometimes just getting the wheelchair down the steps to the car is a challenge for both of us.
When I remember growing up,in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, it seemed like my Mom could and did handle everything, although my sister and brother say that Dad was the backbone of the family as far as stability went. My father was handicapped though due to polio and spinal meningitis, so even if he may have been the stablizing force, my Mom was the doer. She ran the house and did the daily stuff and kept us going with clean clothes, food and good meals. They were active socially,in school, religious and volunteering circles. They had many friends and we had a big family. It was a great place for a kid to grow up(and did I mention it was the 50's???? nuff said)
The tiny, tiny person that I dress everyday has little resemblence to the woman who ran that 3 story house with 3 kids and a husband who wore a back brace to be able to stand upright. He left us at age 53, having used up every last ounce of energy that he could have squeezed out of his life. Sometimes I just here and just am kind of surprised at fast life moves by.
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