Wanda's letter
Dear Barbara, Donna, and Raymond,
I am so sorry not to be with you at this sad time of the loss of your mother and my sister, but I know Georgetta and you understand. Georgetta was like a second mother to me, and when, I was growing up, sometimes I would pretend she was my mother because she was young like the mothers of my friends.
On the first day of kindergarten, I had a rude awakening. I thought all the toys were for me, and I did not want to share. I guess I was suspended, for the teacher called my sister, who lived just across the street from the school. She had to come to take me home because I was unable to adjust. Thankfully, I was a fast learner, and that did not happen again. Even then, she was there for me.
She was easy to talk with as I was growing up, and she understood me. I recall how happy I was to go to her house for lunch from school because she always had the best food. And on the way there, I would pick fights with Barbara the way Sandy and Gail used to fight, because I envied their sibling relationship. Sorry, Barbara. To this day, I have not forgotten the Go-to-School Cookies and the sweet rolls, a combination of a crescent/croissant roll. Lots of times she would buy me clothes when she would buy the same thing for her girls. One Christmas, when I was about ten, and Barbara a little younger, we had fancy identical dresses, probably purchased by Georgetta. She always fixed my hair for picture day and gave me my permanents, too!
Georgetta was so good to our mother. Every morning she was there for coffee, and every evening she was there again. She or Barbs would always bring the mail. Later, she would make mom dinner and bring it to her, much like Barbara and Sigrid did for Georgetta. Without Georgetta, Mom would probably have had to go to a convalescent home a lot sooner. I never really appreciated all she did for Mom until much, much later. Thanks, Georgetta, and thanks to your children for taking over later.
Georgetta was a great confidant for me and remained so until a week ago. When I was in college, she stood by me through thick and thin. Without her, might life might have been very, very different, and I realize that now. Many a Sunday evening, I would give her a call, and she would always answer, "Hello, my dear sister, how are you?" We would talk about everything, from the movie or game she was watching, to the weather, to our kids. She would always ask about David and Jillian. I would tell her about my health issues, and we discuss family traits that seem to have brought on certain health problems. She would tell me about events that I was too young to remember, and she would remind me of teenage episodes that I would rather forget!
Who is going to call me on my birthday now? She would call me every year without fail, and remind me of my age, which she never lost track of. Once she relived the story of my being, for she said Mom was so embarrassed to be pregnant with me that she sat behind a table whenever anyone would come to visit. So, when I came along, everyone was really surprised. We would relive the night I was born-almost in a snowbank, but thanks to Leo Razmus, we got to the hosptial in time. We would laugh about the times she and Ray would take me on an outing and everyone thought I was his baby. "Looks just like her daddy" she told me the people would say.
Like her mother before her, Georgetta enjoyed the simple things in life: a good cup of coffee, the hummingbirds at her window, the deer in her yard, and a trip to the casino every once in a while. (She loved winnning that money.) She never failed to brag on her children, Barb who would cook those delicious dinners and bring her enough for "three days." Raymond, her handy man, who checked on her several times a day and did the dishes and other chores that needed to be done, and Donna who called her every day-"once in the morning and once at night." She loved her visits, and, Donna, you can be in peace to know that you made enough of them. She was so proud of her new home and wished she had "moved years ago." A wise man said that everything good we did in life comes back a hundred fold, and for Georgetta, her family saw that this was son.
Thank you, dear sister, for teaching me what was important in live and fighting for it and just letting the rest go like grains of sand. I will miss "I love you dear sister" at the end of our phone calls, but I do love you dear sister-always.
Wanda
I am so sorry not to be with you at this sad time of the loss of your mother and my sister, but I know Georgetta and you understand. Georgetta was like a second mother to me, and when, I was growing up, sometimes I would pretend she was my mother because she was young like the mothers of my friends.
On the first day of kindergarten, I had a rude awakening. I thought all the toys were for me, and I did not want to share. I guess I was suspended, for the teacher called my sister, who lived just across the street from the school. She had to come to take me home because I was unable to adjust. Thankfully, I was a fast learner, and that did not happen again. Even then, she was there for me.
She was easy to talk with as I was growing up, and she understood me. I recall how happy I was to go to her house for lunch from school because she always had the best food. And on the way there, I would pick fights with Barbara the way Sandy and Gail used to fight, because I envied their sibling relationship. Sorry, Barbara. To this day, I have not forgotten the Go-to-School Cookies and the sweet rolls, a combination of a crescent/croissant roll. Lots of times she would buy me clothes when she would buy the same thing for her girls. One Christmas, when I was about ten, and Barbara a little younger, we had fancy identical dresses, probably purchased by Georgetta. She always fixed my hair for picture day and gave me my permanents, too!
Georgetta was so good to our mother. Every morning she was there for coffee, and every evening she was there again. She or Barbs would always bring the mail. Later, she would make mom dinner and bring it to her, much like Barbara and Sigrid did for Georgetta. Without Georgetta, Mom would probably have had to go to a convalescent home a lot sooner. I never really appreciated all she did for Mom until much, much later. Thanks, Georgetta, and thanks to your children for taking over later.
Georgetta was a great confidant for me and remained so until a week ago. When I was in college, she stood by me through thick and thin. Without her, might life might have been very, very different, and I realize that now. Many a Sunday evening, I would give her a call, and she would always answer, "Hello, my dear sister, how are you?" We would talk about everything, from the movie or game she was watching, to the weather, to our kids. She would always ask about David and Jillian. I would tell her about my health issues, and we discuss family traits that seem to have brought on certain health problems. She would tell me about events that I was too young to remember, and she would remind me of teenage episodes that I would rather forget!
Who is going to call me on my birthday now? She would call me every year without fail, and remind me of my age, which she never lost track of. Once she relived the story of my being, for she said Mom was so embarrassed to be pregnant with me that she sat behind a table whenever anyone would come to visit. So, when I came along, everyone was really surprised. We would relive the night I was born-almost in a snowbank, but thanks to Leo Razmus, we got to the hosptial in time. We would laugh about the times she and Ray would take me on an outing and everyone thought I was his baby. "Looks just like her daddy" she told me the people would say.
Like her mother before her, Georgetta enjoyed the simple things in life: a good cup of coffee, the hummingbirds at her window, the deer in her yard, and a trip to the casino every once in a while. (She loved winnning that money.) She never failed to brag on her children, Barb who would cook those delicious dinners and bring her enough for "three days." Raymond, her handy man, who checked on her several times a day and did the dishes and other chores that needed to be done, and Donna who called her every day-"once in the morning and once at night." She loved her visits, and, Donna, you can be in peace to know that you made enough of them. She was so proud of her new home and wished she had "moved years ago." A wise man said that everything good we did in life comes back a hundred fold, and for Georgetta, her family saw that this was son.
Thank you, dear sister, for teaching me what was important in live and fighting for it and just letting the rest go like grains of sand. I will miss "I love you dear sister" at the end of our phone calls, but I do love you dear sister-always.
Wanda
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