Eileen and Larry Somers

I don't want to start another blog specifically for our dad, Larry Somers. But as I sort through papers and think of things I'd like to "keep" while I clear clutter, I think I'll just add them to mother's blog. I don't think she'd mind. I found this in with my dad's financial papers (my parents didn't get rid of very many pieces of paper . . . ). I hadn't realized that he started working at Suburban even before Louise was born! I knew that it was the only job I was cognizant of him having and that's because it *was* his only job during my lifetime until he retired! He had so many stories about working at Suburban Wood Products. Most of them reflected his unhappiness with his job there. As a kid, I once asked him why he didn't quit if he was so unhappy. That didn't go over well! I didn't realize until I was an adult that his negativity was part of his identity. It's sad that he lived a "glass half full" ...

I have so many mom stories to write! I jotted a note this past week - "M - farts" because I was cracking open a hard boiled egg. Suddenly, I could just hear her saying "Mmmm, good fart material." She would say this about broccoli, boiled eggs, onions, etc. Her farts were prodigious! My dad used to joke that he should "bottle them and sell them to the military" to use as a deadly weapon. She told me (after she retired from teaching) that she would pass gas in her classroom, then move to a different place in the room. As third graders would exclaim "Ew!" and try to figure out the culprit, she would feign innocence. Oh my! She had the gift of making us laugh. Those poor students!

This is probably more about me than about my mom . . . but I gave her my Cursillo Bible with some marked passages. I wanted to share the love of Jesus with her. (She rocked my world when she said she wanted us to sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord" at her funeral . . . which we did.) After she died, I brought this Bible to Strawberry Lake. I wanted a *print* Bible there, but my regular one is pretty heavy for packing and bringing back and forth. All the post-it notes stuck in it were in my way, but I wanted to "save" what I had marked for my mom, so I wrote them down. Psalm 13:5-6 Psalm 23 Isaiah 12:2 Isaiah 53 Matthew 10:26-33 (esp 28, 30b) Luke 23:39-43 Romans 6:1-14 (or is this from some other time?) Romans 6:19-23 (different post-it and writing) Romans 8:1-11 (v5) Romans 10:9-13 Philippians 1:12-13 Philippians 4:4-9 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 1 Timothy 2:1-6 Hebrews 10:19-25 Now I'll need to go back and re-read these passages. Blessings!

When Jeanne was a kid (10-16 years old?), she heard her mom talking about meeting with her POETS Club after school. Wow! How sophisticated and cultured. These women were going to sit around and talk about poetry. No . . . Jeanne was shocked to find out that it was an acronym for Piss On Everything - Tomorrow's Saturday (POETS). As an adult (and an educator), I "get" it. But as a kid I just remember that transition from being impressed to being shocked. Funny.

My mom was so good about encouraging us. She would get mad, too, but she was definitely a nurturer. I don't know what this was connected to, but there are notes like this all over the place. I love the sight of her handwriting and the simple signature. (M is for Mother.)

We would give her 3 kisses on her forehead and she would light up and say “I like that the best.”  This was when she had dementia. Mother was very protective during that time.  She would say something to the effect of "if they give you a bad time, I'm going to talk to them."

She used to always have a half-stick of Carefree sugarless gum. She would share, but you could only have a half-stick (torn in half). She was thrifty and knew that when it lost its flavor, we would spit it out. I don't really remember when she stopped chewing Carefree, but I vividly remember what a huge part of my childhood it was. She had such a sweet tooth! She loved desserts and treats so much. When we had fruit that was tart, she wanted to add sugar to it. She and Louie were so different that way! Louie loves tart fruit. When Stacie started bringing her homemade desserts to family gatherings, my mom's face would light up. Yum for desserts! She was more than willing to try weird foods (and expected us to give them a try, too). The beef tongue was disgusting! It looked gross (like a gigantic tongue) and tasted nasty. It was really hard to chew, too. She also made a pie one time and said, "Try it. It's apple." It didn't look like apple and she was being t...