Day 156 ~ Stops Along the Way

June 5, 2014      

My instead: My mom and I visited the house where her parents first brought her home as a newborn and also the place where her mother Amelia died almost 80 years ago. 

Every once and a while, Mom needs attention. She had asked me a while back to go with her to shop for a new umbrella for her patio table. Okay. We went to Menard’s which had a really nice selection, but Mom wanted it to be the color GREEN. No green. Lowe’s, here we come! They only had two on display! “Okay, Mom, I’ll look on line to find a green umbrella for you. Let’s just go eat.” 

After several dining suggestions, we (she) decided on Captain D’s. Suffice it to say, we had enough fried “everything” to finish off the healthiest of arteries. We visited with each other and also with one of my friends that had come in. It was an enjoyable time. 

As the evening was coming to a close and we were heading home, Mom asked if I wanted to go see the house in which she was brought home as a newborn. That was perfect! My mind was wondering anyway on what my “instead” for the day would be. It’s funny how they oftentimes manifest all by themselves with little or no planning. Thank you, Mom! Of course, I said yes!  

We parked in front of the yellow house at 413 Park Avenue and I got out to take some photos. I was imagining my grandparents entering the home with my mom, baby Jeanette. I envisioned my mom sleeping inside as a newborn. I got back in the car and asked Mom if she would get out and stand in front of the house so I could take her picture. She refused adamantly! I said that I could die tomorrow. She said that SHE could die tomorrow. I said “Well, let’s do this then!” She got out and posed on the steps for me to photograph the house where she began her journey. 

Next stop on the way home was a vacant lot at 511 Mascoutah Avenue. The house that once stood there had been torn down years ago. Mom said it used to stand very close to the street and that her mother’s bedroom was at the right front corner. Mom stayed in the car as I roamed the lot. I stood in the spot where my grandmother passed…just stood. I wanted to feel her presence. I wanted to feel HER. Unbelievably, I had driven by that spot for years! I used to live a couple of blocks away! I never knew that a woman, 26-years-old, left this world for another. Her husband and two children were left in her shadow to carry on with this life. And they did…somehow they did.

The house where my mother lived as a newborn.

My mom and her first house as a baby.

Front of the lot where my grandma died almost 80 years.

The lot where my grandma died .