My Inspirations—my Son, my Aunts, and my Son’s Girlfriend!

My son Paul and I are very close.  I’m so blessed to have such a fun, loving, and inspiring son.  He has always been my husband’s pride and joy as well.  When my mother passed away, which was about 4 years or so after my father’s passing, I felt I really wanted to be closer to where my son lived.  My husband and I were living in New England and still had many friends and family members there.  Paul was in the Seattle area and doing well with his job at Boeing.  He had been there 4 years by this time and was feeling quite settled.  He also was thrilled about the prospect of us coming to live near him.  All of us were excited to do fun things together again.

We thought and prayed about this for a while.  After all, picking up your roots that you’ve had most of your life wasn’t easy, but I also felt it would help in the process of grieving the loss of my mother. It was time again to look to the future, which was not easy for sure!  I talked with two of my aunts, Elaine and Diane.  They both encouraged me that I belonged near my son now, and that my mother would have wanted the same for me.   My son dangled a little carrot in front of me by telling me how many gluten-free restaurants there were in Seattle, how much there is to do, and how people are so nice.  Finally he told us about the new love in his life, Samantha, and how she is amazing.  We are so grateful for her!  She is a very loving and loyal young woman.

So we sold everything, packed up what we could, and off we went to our new future to be together again with our son and now, his girlfriend.  They have been so amazingly supportive in helping us get settled.   For the first year and half, Paul shared a home with us to help get us acclimated to living somewhere new.  And, I had the wonderful privilege of cooking for him again and Samantha as well.  We have shared so many fun gluten-free meals together.  I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful it has been.  These two have been our introduction to gluten-free living and fun in Seattle.  Samantha has found so many places for us to go, everything from gluten-free Italian restaurants to wineries to gluten-free breweries, and even, especially, Chinese food.

We haven’t had this much fun since Paul was young.  My, the tables are turning aren’t they? It used to be I took him places to do fun things, and now he’s doing that for me.  Does this mean I’m old?   Well, kinda!   That’s my Bostonian accent, by the way.   Anyway,  pictured above are these two loves of my life, Paul and Samantha, as they enjoyed an afternoon in the Seattle area.  It is reminiscent of spending time with my mother going places and doing fun things.  She was just like that.  My father was too, they were both so fun loving. While I miss them dearly, I love spending time with with my son.   He is just like them and has made gluten-free living special for me.  Thanks to you both!  Keep having fun–life can be challenging and full of surprises, but these two know how to respite in between the hard days.

 

Pictured here are two photos of my Aunt Diane, back in the 1940’s or so.  She was married to my father’s brother, Murray.  She and my Auntie Elaine were my mentors throughout my life.  They were always there to lend an ear and always came to my most prominent life events.  Auntie Diane recently passed away in Florida.  I miss her dearly!  She never thought of herself and was so beautiful.  I think she missed her calling–she could have been a model.

 

Pictured here is My Auntie Elaine, she is married to my father’s brother, my Uncle Martin.  She, along with Diane, have been such a loyal support to me and many of my other cousins.  After my mother’s passing, she helped lighten the blow by telling me she would always be there for me.  And, she certainly has been.  I love her dearly!  This photo was taken at my wedding on May 18th 1980.  Pictured along with Uncle Martin and Auntie Elaine is my father’s Aunt Anne who has since passed away.  Auntie Ann was my grandmother’s sister and a favorite of both my mother and father.  People really stuck together back then.  Auntie Anne always said my father was her favorite nephew.  She frequently had family food gatherings at her home in Brookline, Massachusetts.  I can still remember the large family gatherings back then and all the food with plenty of gluten, of course. Italians and Jewish people really know how to put on a good spread of food and fellowship.  Since I had a dose of both growing up,  it’s no wonder I do what I do today.