McBlog

A dear friend recently became a grandmother for the first time. Unfortunately, the baby is is New England, hundreds of miles from Grandma. Here is a slide show that I made using the photos I took for Grandma to put in a photo album so the baby will be familiar with all the exciting new sites she will discover when she comes to visit.

This is the last thing you want to see when you're on your way to the Dr. for a blood pressure check! He was about five feet from my front door. I grabbed my camera and the little guy posed for me. Then I threw a box over him so I could deal with him when I got home. I certainly did not want to execute him if he were a harmless critter, so I sent the picture to Dan who replied...

"See the large round pupils and narrow head – harmless"

That's a good thing, because he escaped before I got home. I guess it's also a good thing that I let Dan have pet snakes when he was a kid!

Florida 21 --- Tennessee 20

In the early part of 1977, I discovered that I was expecting my second baby. Six years earlier, I had given birth to a beautiful baby boy and now I was slowly beginning to allow myself to THINK PINK! Boys are great, and Mike and I were thrilled to have a son, but now, I wanted a girl…a sweet-smelling, dainty, little darling. The morning sickness hit soon, and never really abated for nine months, but if I could have a delicate, pink bundle of joy, it would all be worth it. I even began to fantasize about petticoats and pigtails….ruffles and ribbons….and yes, even pink tights and tutus! After an easy delivery, even though the epidural didn’t work, I got my baby girl!

She was a delight and I had a grand time dressing my little darling in pink and lace and ruffles! That is until about the age of three. Then it became quite obvious that Rebecca and I had two very different and conflicting ideas about a little girl’s wardrobe and accessories. On countless occasions she began to voice her opinion…”I don’t like that…it has ruffles on it!…I don’t like that…the lace itches!….I don’t want those ribbons in my hair!”

OH MY! What happened to my dainty little bundle of femininity? Where was the ‘girly-girl’ daughter of my daydreams? She was a whirling dervish of activity… running and jumping and climbing…as much or more than any boy. I could not turn my back on her for two minutes unless I wanted to turn around and retrieve her from atop a fence or scaffolding. When she was six years old, she fell off a slide and broke her arm, the first of five more breaks. She wasn’t the least bit disappointed that she couldn’t continue ballet classes with her arm in a cast. So, fearing that I was surely depriving the world of the next Pavlova, I withdrew her from dance classes. Scooters and bikes and swings and monkey bars were preferred to baby dolls and Barbie dolls and tutus!

She was the total opposite of my stereotype image of a little girl. A dear family friend even dubbed her BUCKO because of her boundless energy. She became my ‘duckling’. Was she ever going to turn into a ‘swan’?

Around the age of fourteen, the swan slowly began to emerge. She has grown into a self-assured, beautiful young woman, with a kind spirit and a delightful, heart-warming smile.

She is her father’s daughter, with a keen sense of humor and quick wit. And she is the light of her mother’s life!

I created this slideshow to commemorate what would have been Mother's 89th birthday this week. It's hard to believe that she's been gone almost five years. The musical selections are Seredeczna Matko (Beloved Mother) which was originally Boze, Cos Polske (God, Who Held Poland) a traditional Polish melody that at one time was sung as a national hymn in the period after the Uprising of 1830. Its singing was forbidden by the conquering powers and when the lyrics of Seredeczna Matko (Beloved Mother) were substituted and sung as a Catholic hymn it was still forbidden. The second melody is 'Improvisation on a Polish Air' performed by Tadeusz Majewski. Mother was always very proud of her Polish heritage. The original family name was Brodneowski before my grandfather shortened it to Broski when he entered the U.S. He was adamant that the 'ski' ending was preserved to reflect his Polish nationality.

Original lyrics:

God who held Poland for so many ages,
In Your protection, glory, and great power,
Who gave Your wisdom to her bards and sages,
And gave Your own shield as her rightful dower.

Bring back to Poland ancient might and splendor,
And fruitful blessings bring to fields and meadows;
Be once again our Father, just, yet tender,
Deliver us from out our dire shadows.

CHORUS:
Before Your altars,
we in supplication
Kneeling implore You
Free our land and nation.