My parents …

Tonight I’m just thinking about my parents

I just want to share some stories…

My mom had a hard life growing up… her parents were not the greatest… then she met my dad when they worked together at a grocery store as teenagers.

She shared with me how they met … my dad worked in the meat department, he was 15, he would sweep the floors and clean etc… my mom worked the front check out… she was 17… the older woman lol

So one day a coworker says to my mom… do know him? He wants to know if you would like to go out sometime?

My moms response was – if he wants to ask me out, tell him to do it himself ❤️ lol – oh she was awesome!!

So he did, and she said yes … when my dad died and we found out she had Alzheimer’s, we had to take control and go through their things… we found hilarious things ❤️

We found boxes upon boxes of old Kodak slides – which btw are totally hilarious!!! I wish I had these photos when I was a teenager lol … we are digitalizing them to not lose them… I cherish every photo!!!

My dad was always the photographer – my mom was the sentimental one so she saved everything… my dad was the ocd one … so she hoarded – he organized and labeled lol

My dad took ALOT of pictures!!! Thankfully … it is a life remembered ❤️

I am a mix of the 2 🤨 😄✌️ I do both – keep for sentimental reasons, box it up label and organize lol – I am also a picture taker ❤️

I do have bits of my dads ocd stuff – never ask me to plan a vacation … not only will I plan it… I map it out, set time lines, give each person in family a folder with highlighted aspects as to activities or histories etc… yeah just don’t let me do that – I get a little bit over excited

Our vacations were always like National Lampoons Vacations with Chevy Chase lol … I would have the headphones in my ears – my brother be touching me or being annoying… my baby sister be pooping her diaper and my mom was like – “Look everyone!!! Mountains” 🤨🙄 for the 5 millionth time lol

Oh ya seen one ya seen em all… that was my response as a teenager… but something happened and I warped into my mom – and find myself saying the same to my kids “look!!! Mountains” 🤨🙄😄

I always bring them somewhere educational or historical…

I went everywhere in the United States growing up … there are occasions when I bring my kids somewhere and not know I was there once before… I have flash backs and things would look familiar – I would call my mom and say “have we been here?”

Sure enough we had. So it’s hard for me to find places in the United States I haven’t seen yet.

I have been out of the United States once … I went on a cruise to the Caribbean which was beautiful and breathtaking and amazing!! I went to St.Thomas (United States Virgin Island) and Tortola (British Virgin Islands), and the Bahamas (also British) was beautiful and breathtaking – quite the experience – but the only time I ever left the United States

One time we went camping … probably in Colorado if I am not mistaken… we had a 1979 Ford van decked out… had pull out couch, refrigerator, very plush – so who wants to sleep on the ground in a tent? lol …

My dad would always say ok camp or hotel ? My answer was always “hotel” lol … but on vacation we try to save money to do other things – so sometimes we camped …

On one of these occasions … my sister and I were like eh… we will sleep in the van… so we did

The van had this sliding door that was REALLY loud lol… well in the middle of the night my sister freaks out and says somethings in here with us… I said no don’t be silly …

But she freaked out and want to go to the tent … so fine whatever … I slide open the loud slider in the middle of the night and go unzip the tent and wake my parents and give her to them…

Then I rezip the tent, go back in the van – slide the loud slider … and laid back down …

Well all of the sudden – in there all by myself … I heard something run across the vinyl pull out couch… and it jumped on my chest 😮😳😳😳😄

So I’m screaming lol… it’s the middle of the night in a campground… and sliding open the loud slider door, slamming it shut, unzipping the tent and going in there with them lol … oh my dad was so mad lol … to remember back it’s hilarious … and we refused to get back in that van the next day until my dad checked it all out lol – I swear something was in there lol

My mom was always really funny – she saw funny things in everything … my dad was really good to her, and she to him. She adored him – he gave her a good life

My mom was the bubbly happy emotional one … my dad was the business/no emotions one. crazy they made a perfect match

I miss my dad – it was heartbreaking to lose him. He was 67. Very young and he always lived a healthy life. It just happens sometimes – but was a shock. Extremely devastating

And my mom, she’s only currently 72… she will be 73 this year – I miss laughing with her. I can still say “I love you” but she’s not really there – that’s really hard

I kinda feel like losing them both like that “boom boom” … kinda dimmed me a little – I was not ready to lose them both

And I’m an adult…. you just never know. You don’t realize

My dad used to take us fishing… and while we would be fishing he record fishing shows on the VCR. So when we got home we could watch other people fishing lol

We used to take vacations every year … 2 of them … first would be the cross country trips right after school got out for summer… and then the beach vacation right before school started back up.

Our beach vacation was always to Sanibel Island in Florida ❤️ is beautiful there … we are Irish mostly … so every year my mother would get herself all severely sunburned 🤨😄 she would make us all lather up in lotion – but she would forget to do herself evidentially 🤨

When you are Irish there is no such thing as tan 🤨🙄 … it’s white or red 🤨… and then if you get red – you will also shed your skin 🤨 oh it’s so gross!! Why????

One time she got sun poisoning … I was about 9… so she was sick … and we had my newborn baby sister who pooped her diaper … well my dad was like here “change her” lol… I didn’t know how to do that and ewww … so me and my dad held her under the shower until she was clean lol

My mother was like omg you two!! lol

My dad used to take a video camera during hurricanes – and I would pretend to be a weather girl … we have video of me as a kid doing that… I am skinny and practically getting blown over – my mom is yelling out the window to come inside lol he’s video taping – it was awesome … to this day I love hurricanes … I love the smell of them, I love the feel of them and I am left in awe of them.

I had an amazing childhood – I am thankful and lucky for that … but I miss them tremendously

I just miss them ❤️

Anyway, just thinking of them tonight and sharing

Gnite ✌️