What worked:
Loletta with the image
Repetition seemed soothing for Catholics (those who went to Catholic school)
What didn't work:
Chris recounting story of older nun who when asked if she wanted to do the rosary said, "No way, that thing is too damn long."
What made us laugh:
Hilda Colflesh Hippie Rosary: Bev, "Don't forget to help her, hers is on her head"
You can’t put some things back together again
It was like we were in a snowglobe that night
The night we went to sing Christmas carols to Gigi
Oh, I love my Gigi
And snow
And Christmas time
When we got to the building where Gigi lives, I ran up to her window
Gigi was in her wheelchair with her mask
I could see her smiling eyes; she waved and blew me a kiss
I’m tired of no hugs from Gigi; no one knows when the hugs will return
The grown ups gathered around her window, chattering and taking photos
Sister and I began to run around in the snow
We threw some snowballs at each other; sister threw snowballs at the grown ups
Uncle Joe knocked a tree branch that dropped a mountain of snow on us
Then I began to make a snowman.
I rolled the body, pushing the round cold ball across the lawn
I carefully set it up in front of Gigi’s window
I rolled the next one--sister joined me as we rolled the last one, the head.
The grown ups and some ladies at the building were singing carols while we worked
We finished the snowman’s perfect shape
Uncle Joe gave me jingle bells for the eyes
One of the ladies from the building added her light up necklace to the snowman.
She said that Gigi would love having this snowman as her company when we had to go
My parents took pictures of me and sister with our light-up necklace snowman
I was starting to feel cold and tired
but I was proud that I had made such a gift for Gigi
And then it happened
Sister knocked over the snowman, the middle and the head
I ran and threw myself crying into my mother’s thick winter coat-- angry, sad, confused
Someone was saying, “It was an accident”
The lady from the building ran in and re-rolled the snowman,
Trying to fix my snowman with a quick, lumpy ball that was too big for the head,
Trying to help by saying, “not perfect, but it will do; Gigi will still love it"
But she didn’t understand
Nobody there understood
There are some things you can’t put back together again
I return to this platform with hopes to record some of my lessons along the way before things become too familiar to remember they were once foreign.
My education background:
