so little time

I wish I was writing more here, but time is not permitting it. Also feeling a little block, I hate to admit. Started going through boxes of my mom's stuff that I couldn't deal with last Fall when I stuck them in the garage. Here are a few things that have sparked my interest and that I would like to blog about:

!. my mom's career in healthcare. I found a notebook she kept full of accolades she received for her work as a trainer of paramedics in the mid to late 70s. This was also the time that my mom and dad served on a volunteer ambulance service in teh town we lived in. Not surprisingly, I remember that period as the happiest my family ever had together. This backs up the saying that "when the mama's happy, everyone is happy". That was definitely true in my family because my mom had the strongest personality. The flip side, as you can imagine, was that when my mom was having a hard time then everybody suffered. That sucked, now that I think about it. Anyway, looking at my mom's notebook of career accomplishments made me realize that the best part of her work life was over when we moved to Vienna. She never found that mixture of teaching, healthcare and leadership that she thrived in when she was working for Area Ambulance. My heart breaks a little to realize this, and to remember that she turned just 40 when we moved to Vienna in 1980.

2. My mom's brown wallet. Full of interesting tidbits from the early 60s, like pictures of a gay guy who called her "lil sis", and pictures of a military man named Sam Durbin, who I've never heard anything about. All I know is that I found a stash of letters from my dad to my mom before they were married, and an empty envelope postmarked 1961 or 2 from Sam. So where is the letter? did she take it out because she didn't want us to find it, or did she put somewhere special that was closer to her heart? I don't know, and I never will I suppose, but my money is on the second possibility.

3. pictures. Tim has a scanner and I would like to scan a few things onto my blog. Like my mom's 1962-3 permit to buy liquor in Iowa! It's a goofy little book she kept in her wallet, and apparently one had to have the liquor store attendant fill it in for you everytime you bought liquor? The month of March 63 looks to have been a party time for my mom and her young friends. She was just 22.