Friday, July 18, 2014

                                    Happy Birthday, Sarah!                                  

Nephew Jeremy with his wife Sarah

                                  Happy Birthday, Carmel!

Jerry and Carmel at Eric's graduation, 2014

Jerry and Carmel's Wedding, 1976

Carmel's wedding shower

                                           Happy Birthday, Mutti!

M's Joey Heatherton look, February 1978
 
My sister-in-law gave me this poem which I thought so beautiful and appropriate in tribute to my mother on her second birthday after her passing.
 
Your mother is always with you.
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself.
She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well.
She's your breath on the air on a cold winter's day.
She's the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, Christmas morning.
 
Your mother lives inside your laughter.
She's the place you came from, your first home, and the map you follow with every step you take.
She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy,
but nothing on earth can separate you -- not time, not space -- not even death.
 
**Unknown**
 
Happy Birthday, Mutti! 
 
 
With Carol at Joey and Carol's wedding
 
 
With Jerry at his wedding
 
 
With Mickey at Janie's wedding
 
 
With Linda getting ready for her wedding
 

Te Quiero Dijiste, The Three Tenors, Los Angeles, California


I'm Going Home, Hank Williams Sr.

July is my family's biggest month for birthdays.  Happy Birthday to Mickey, Nikki, Mutti, Carmel, and Sarah.  As we celebrated Mickey's 60th, it's on to Nikki's. 

What has struck us all is how our niece, Nicole, looked just like her mother, Jane, for most of her young life.  Some examples:

Janie's first Christmas, 1964

When I first held Janie, I immediately knew I wanted to be a Pediatrician.  And since, we were inseparable as I took her out in her carriage, taught her to walk and talk, potty train, color, and play.  I'd sew her little Shirley Temple outfits, and when it was time for school, my mother never had to worry about Janie's homework until I was off to college five years later.  How I loved her!

She was the apple of my eye, as Nicole, her daughter, would be.  As I took on the role of surrogate mother when Janie asked to me to take care of Nicole if anything were to happen to her as she had become very ill.  When Janie died, Nicole was seven.

Note the resemblance between mother and daughter:

Nicole's First Christmas, 1992 
 
Janie, a flower girl at three years old

 
Nicole's third birthday party
 
Nicole at eight years old

                                          And now a beautiful young lady...
 
 
Happy 22nd Birthday, Nicole!
 
  




10 comments:

Anonymous said...

My goodness Petra, if you'd place the photos side by side with no captions, I would never have guessed they were two different children. Yes, their resemblance is uncanny.

Such sad and wonderful memories!

Wishing Nicole a very happy birthday and the very best of everything!

Love, K. :)

Anonymous said...

p.s. What a beautiful young lady Nicole is Petra. How proud you must be!

K. :)

Ron said...

Wow Petra, you are so right about the resemblance because when I looked at the photos so close together, they almost look like TWINS.

What a touching and sweet post. You so often touch something deep inside my heart through the stories share here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Nicole!

You're BEAUTIFUL!

Have a wonderful weekend, dear friend!
X

P.S. And Happy Birthday to all the other members of your family!

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Isn't it uncanny and beautiful, K.?! Esp. their first Christmases!

I used to joke with my mother, that Janie was my baby. She had five other children to contend with, she was more than ok with it! And my connection to both sister/mother/daughter was so strong...I look back at those days as some of the most wonderful in my life, K. :))


petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

She developed this look on her own. None of the women in my family really wear much make up, but she learned by video tutorials. We were struggling with her prom makeup and it seemed overnight, she looked as glamorous as a starlet!

And she's made the dean's list every semester. She's graduating in one more. So, yes, K., very proud, indeed! :))

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Thank you so very much, Ron!

Yes, we all went through so much with Janie's untimely death, but from the day she was born, the connection was so strong; a connection passed on to Nicole. :))

Ron, I'll pass your comments along to her! She'll be tickled pink; not her favorite color, but no matter, she'll be happy! :))

Ron said...

Hi Petra!

I just got an update on my feed reader that you had posted, but when I stopped by it looks like a post I had already seen, but with added photos and video clips at the top.

I loved the photos (especially the one of Carmens' wedding shower) OMG, I love her hat with the bows!

The poem was just lovely. It made me think of my mother who passed away about a year and a half ago.

What a great clip of the 3 Tenors!

Hope you're having a super weekend, dear friend!

X

Anonymous said...

Just thought I'd swing by for the same reason made in the previous comment.

Beautiful photos! And you weren't kidding when you mentioned that July was the busiest month for birthdays in your family.

I hope it was a wonderful month for all! K. :)

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Hi Ron!

Yes, and it hasn't stopped yet. Sarah's is tomorrow; hers is the last for the month.

It almost seemed as if the month of July had remained stationery on my blog, but not so in reality.

Thank you for stopping by Ron! :))

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Hi, K.!

Yes, it's been non-stop! The last is Sarah's tomorrow, my nephew's wife.

Could I use a vacation and would love to visit with Carmel and Jerry in Florida though Jerry recently hurt his back. He's been through quite a few procedures already, hoping to find the cause to this sudden pain. Life!

Thank you for stopping by, K. :))