A Life Well Lived

My blogs are about good things – travel, food, our adventures.  But today it’s about the passing of a life.  My mother-in-law’s.

Let me tell you a little about her.

My first memory of my mother-in-law was being greeted at the door for a family Hannukah party which Roy brought me to.  She was so happy that her son had met a Jewish girl!

When Roy and I finally got married, I called her Shirley.  She said absolutely not.  We’re mom and dad.

She loved her family more than life itself.  She was fiercely loyal and “kvelled” at her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren’s every accomplishment.  She was a loving wife with a marriage that lasted 63 years.  She was a sister.  She was an aunt. She was a cousin.

She was a worrier on a grand scale.  Worrying about things before they happened.

She was one of the first women to sell real estate agent in Newton, MA.  She worked hard.  She never lived above her means, probably below her means.  She checked every receipt to make sure there were no mistakes almost like a game.

She traveled the world with Max, her husband.  Theirs was a match made in heaven.

She was a competitor.  She taught me the in’s and out’s of Scrabble which we played every Sunday night.  She played bridge and loved Suduko.

We argued every week about politics.

And, she was a realist.  She did everything she wanted to in her life and knew that it was coming to an end and was at peace.  Her’s was a storybook ending.  She passed away the way most people wish for.  At her daughter’s home, surrounded by people who loved her.

And now, her family is left with a legacy which they will carry on, laugh and cry about and say that’s how mom and grammy would have done it.

So, R.I.P  – mom.