Back In Town

We had a wonderful weekend.  Eler Beth and I got to my Mom's house late Friday afternoon.  All of my sisters were there, and also a first cousin of ours who is like one of our sisters.  She and her brothers are double cousins of ours, because her mother was my mother's only sister, and her father was one of my father's brothers.   Her name is Sharon, and she actually calls my Mom "Mom" now, since both her parents are deceased.  My niece-in-law wasn't able to make it.

We. Ate. So. Much.

There was good stuff, like veggies, dip, and fruit.   And there was bad stuff, like chips, dips, cookies, pies, ice cream, cake, and rum balls.  The rum balls were soooo good! 

We stayed up until about 2:00 Saturday morning, watching movies and playing games.  We had sleeping bags and pillows all over my Mom's living room floor, just like a bunch of kids!  I think Mom actually stayed up until midnight, and that is very late for her.

Eler Beth learned how to play "jacks", the right way, and with the right kind of jacks and ball.  You should have seen all of us, 40-and 50-somethings, sitting cross legged on the floor, teaching a 10-year-old how to play jacks.

For those who have asked for pictures, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say "no".  A few pics were taken, but I have been ordered not to show or publish any of them!  After all, we were all in our pajamas and with no makeup on!

We told a lot of stories, and shared a lot of memories.  We finally turned in, as I said, around 2, but then we still talked until at least 3 a.m.  We were all up at about 8 on Saturday morning, too.  Dennice and Maxine took Mom shopping Saturday afternoon for a new coat and some other things.  The rest of us straightened the house, and Eler Beth and I were supposed to leave, so she could go to a tea party.  But she asked if she could, instead, stay and spend the night with "Mamaw".  So I called in her regrets to the tea party "hostess", and after Mom got back from shopping, I came on home, leaving Eler Beth to spend the night with my Mom, for the first time without me there.

Of course, she had a great time.  Then Sunday morning Thomas and I drove down, had lunch at Mom's, and visited all afternoon.  I was able to start the taped interview with Mom that I've wanted to do for so long.  Of course, it's just the beginning, but as I started interviewing her, all kinds of memories came to her, along with stories and family facts that I had never heard before.

For example, I knew that her father had been in the Cavalry in World War I, but I had never known that he had contracted the Spanish Flu and TB while he was in the service, and was, for a while, at the original Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville.  I will be writing more about him and some other things that my mother told us.  The interviews will continue, of course, because we've only just begun!

Gotta go for now, but more later....

Tags: Waverly Hills Sanatorium