My
mom passed away a few months ago, in August. I miss her every day, but this is
not to mourn my mother. I’ve done that, so now it is about celebrating who she
was. To give a small illustration of that I’m going to tell a story that
happened about 15 years ago.
Mom
was all about her family, taking care of us, being with us. There was no one
she’d rather spend time with than her children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren.
My
siblings and I like to get together and play games. We’ve had poker nights or hours
of 500 Rum. We also enjoy board games, especially trivia games like Trivial
Pursuit. Mom always played too. She was good at cards, pulling out a full house
when you thought your 3-of-a-kind was good or laying down 3 aces in 500 Rum
with a sheepish smile. She struggled more with the trivia but liked to play
because she said she learned so much during the game.
One
night, years ago, we were playing Trivial Pursuit and one of the questions mom
got, followed by the answer she gave, will remain with me forever because of
the boisterous laughter it produced.
This
was the original version of Trivial Pursuit. Mom landed on the science category
and I was reading the question:
Where is the medulla oblongata located?
The
answer is the brain. My brother, sister and I gave each other looks that
indicated we all knew the answer so we’re just waiting for mom.
I
watched mom’s face as she scrunched up her mouth and said “Oh boy” under her
breath. She dropped her eyes to the floor as she thought. After about 30
seconds she looked at me and said, “I don’t know . . . Italy?”
The
laughter that followed was unrestrained, and after her children’s heads dropped
to the table because we couldn’t breathe, mom joined in. Soon all our faces
were red from lack of oxygen. I looked at mom and she said, “I guess that’s not
the right answer.”
I
found enough breath to say “No, no it’s not.”
Bad
jokes were bandied about like:
I hope to get to Italy someday to see
the medulla oblongata.
I hear the medulla oblongata is
beautiful in the spring.
Is that where the Pope sleeps in the
Vatican?
When
I was finally able to speak I said, “The answer is the brain.”
Mom
replied, “The brain? I’d rather go to Italy.”
And
the laughter started all over again.
Miss
you mom.
