We've had a rather busy day returning that defective folding table to Targets, dropping off some lettuce at my brother and sister-in-law's place, dropping off fruits for my nephew and his wife who are both ill (no, it's not swine flu), grocery shopping for food and visiting my aunt in Honolulu.
On the ride home, my mother chuckled and told us she was amazed at my aunt's memory. I asked her what it was Auntie remembered and she explained.
"My sister was thanking me again for carrying her to lunch."
"What?" I was surprised because my aunt is only a year younger than my mom. "Why were you carrying Auntie and how could you?"
"I carried her on my back," she explained. "We liked walking to my parents' friend's house for lunch. They had no children, you see, whereas your grandmother was having a child almost every year. My mother had the many duties of the wife of a Zen priest and teaching Ikebana (flower arranging) classes as well. Being the eldest children, your auntie and I often did not get much attention. Therefore, we enjoyed going to this friends' house. Whenever, we went there they would fuss over us saying how adorable and cute we were. They would then sit us on their knees and we would all eat together. We loved basking in all that attention."
"So why did you have to carry Auntie on your back?" I was really wanting to get to the bottom of this story.
"Oh...," recalled mom. "One day, it was blistering hot and we desperately wanted to go for our special lunch. Unfortunately, my sister could not find her shoes anywhere. I loaned her mine and I went barefeet. However, I quickly discovered that my feet were painfully suffering from the heat, too. What could I do? I took back the shoes and carried my sister on my back to have our lunch. You do understand that Auntie used to be chubbier than me in those days so it wasn't exactly easy." She chuckled again at the memory. "I guess we enjoyed that attention and praise so much that we were willing to struggle a bit to have it."
It's funny but I've never thought of my mother as needing attention because I've always pictured her as the eldest child... responsible, stoic, independent and energetic. I enjoyed this nostalgic glimpse of my mother as a little girl and understand a bit more why she and her sisters are so close.
On the ride home, my mother chuckled and told us she was amazed at my aunt's memory. I asked her what it was Auntie remembered and she explained.
"My sister was thanking me again for carrying her to lunch."
"What?" I was surprised because my aunt is only a year younger than my mom. "Why were you carrying Auntie and how could you?"
"I carried her on my back," she explained. "We liked walking to my parents' friend's house for lunch. They had no children, you see, whereas your grandmother was having a child almost every year. My mother had the many duties of the wife of a Zen priest and teaching Ikebana (flower arranging) classes as well. Being the eldest children, your auntie and I often did not get much attention. Therefore, we enjoyed going to this friends' house. Whenever, we went there they would fuss over us saying how adorable and cute we were. They would then sit us on their knees and we would all eat together. We loved basking in all that attention."
"So why did you have to carry Auntie on your back?" I was really wanting to get to the bottom of this story.
"Oh...," recalled mom. "One day, it was blistering hot and we desperately wanted to go for our special lunch. Unfortunately, my sister could not find her shoes anywhere. I loaned her mine and I went barefeet. However, I quickly discovered that my feet were painfully suffering from the heat, too. What could I do? I took back the shoes and carried my sister on my back to have our lunch. You do understand that Auntie used to be chubbier than me in those days so it wasn't exactly easy." She chuckled again at the memory. "I guess we enjoyed that attention and praise so much that we were willing to struggle a bit to have it."
It's funny but I've never thought of my mother as needing attention because I've always pictured her as the eldest child... responsible, stoic, independent and energetic. I enjoyed this nostalgic glimpse of my mother as a little girl and understand a bit more why she and her sisters are so close.
Cute story!
ReplyDeleteDavid bought me a 6 foot folding table from Costco a couple of weeks ago. It works fine.
what a sweet story. need to record, write down as many stories of your mom's as you can..
ReplyDeleteWhat a darling story! It's so special when a mom shares a childhood story like that. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story! Fun to hear those and be able to share the memories and the fun!
ReplyDeleteLin is absolutely right. I so wish that I had written down my mother's family memories.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. It shows that your mother has always been a loving and caring person.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful family, and Hawaii memory, Kay
ReplyDeleteMahalo for sharing!
Comfort Spiral
This story, or maybe just the fact that your mom told it to you, chokes me up. Great that children find the attention they need where it might be found. (As a teen I adopted the father-figures I needed, like my 7th grade teacher Mr. Stark, and of course Rabbi S.) And great that in the old days we (your mom and I) had the freedom and strength to walk to these friends' places on our own. Not dependent on a parent chauffeur.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly imagine what it is like to have a living mother now, at our age, esp. one living in the same house! Mine died when she was 51, in 1968.
Wishing you lots of strength, Kay, in your mitsvah-like ministering to all your relatives. And give your mom a thank-you from me for her inspiring sharing.
Kay....thanks for sharing such a sweet and nice story....it made me miss my sister ...can we have some more of these
ReplyDeleteI love this story. I love that they shared it all these years and you're just now hearing it! My mother had a lot of stories about growing up with a lot of brothers and sisters, but none are this sweet--they're mostly of the trouble they all got into. Now I'm wondering what the good ones were, that never got passed on.
ReplyDeleteYes, as Kavita says, more please?
Kay, what a lovely story about your Mom and her sister. That was really sweet. Glad you got the folding table returned.
ReplyDeleteMoms do things like that as part of just being mom. Nice memories.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a sweet memory from your mom. How wonderful she shares memories with you. This brought a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteWhile my mother shared many stories of her childhood with me, there are many more, I suspect, that she didn't share. How wonderful your mother enjoys telling you these stories, Kay.
ReplyDeleteAdorable story Kay. I think thats a great Idea of Lins - imagine the great stories your Mom has of her childhood. I would love to read some more and it would be great to have for your grandchildren too.
ReplyDelete