Today is the anniversary of my mother’s passing.  I can’t believe that is has been 24 years.  I thought I would celebrate her memory by using this space to share a few of my favorite things about Agnes.

Mom loved the shore. I loved to hear her tell stories about her summers in Stone Harbor when she was young. My absolute favorite beach memory is sitting with her, facing south in the very late afternoon, soaking up the last bit of the day.

Mom loved scallops.  We loved the way mom pronounced the word scallops.  It sounded like she was saying  SKAALOPS.  It always makes me giggle.

Mom cooked chicken breasts and cut them into little pieces for her cat, Boomer.

My mother’s secretarial skills were superior, to say the least.  Her shorthand was impeccable.  I am thankful that she encouraged me to be a part of the business world.  She instilled an office instinct in me that was very much a part of the way I worked my entire career.

Mom was an excellent pianist.  She had a special talent for playing by ear.  She could hear a song; sit down at the piano and play it like the sheet music was in front of her.

On Saturdays I put her favorite Barry Manilow album on our stereo and we would dust and clean and sing to the sounds of Copa Cabana.

As a former Baskin-Robbins super scooper, I used my skill set to make us ice cream cones on Friday nights.  We ate them while watching Dallas and Falcon Crest.  She liked vanilla and orange sherbet.

Mother Monaghan’s famous Pennsylvania Dutch spaghetti, her macaroni and cheese in the yellow bowl, my all time favorite meatloaf and the sandwiches she made us the next day with the leftovers.

I always enjoyed sitting at her kitchen table during my lunch hour from The Tile. She made me egg salad sandwiches; she also had plenty of my favorite vanilla wafers on hand.

Mom loved Dave Letterman.  When she moved into Elm Terrace she complained bitterly that she couldn’t watch him every night like she always had.  One night at 11:30 pm our favorite nurse snuck into her room, got her out of bed and into her wheelchair.  She then pushed mom to the community room in front of the big TV and turned on the Late Show.  Mom fell asleep in 5 minutes, but she got to see Dave.

I’m sure I’ll be humming her favorite, Let There Be Peace on Earth, throughout the course of today.

❤Miss you mom❤