Memories of Mom - Birthday
Today would have been my mom's 74th birthday. Or 73rd.
Or 75th. It all depends on who/what we choose to believe.
I personally saw two different birth certificates, and
when my mom first knew she was terminally ill she offered
up yet a third birth year "for accuracy".
She was, like many in that era, born at home rather than
in a hospital - supposedly. Her parents died when she was
young - supposedly. The funny part was, any time I
ever asked what exactly they died from, the answer was
only "they were very sick". All of my "aunts" told this
same vague story, but always in an "...oh....yeah, that's
it...." kind of way.
Over the years, there were suspicions from some of my
cousins that my "Aunt" Mary was actually my mother's
birthmother. That would have explained a few things,
like: my mother and my "cousin" Bill looked like
brother and sister; my "Aunt" doted on me and my
brother more than her other "nephews"; and over
and over again, my mother would accidentally refer
to my "cousin" Bill as "your uncle Bill". Hmmm....
Well, "Aunt" Mary was more than 20 years older
than my mother. I mean, it could happen - supposedly.
It wasn't until I was in my 20s that my "Aunt" admitted
to having been previously married "to a Jewish fellow".
Something tells me this was something of an issue in the
1930s, considering my mother's family was of Irish
descent. Of course, it might have been better for me
if she hadn't decided to make the admission over dinner
with my (Jewish) girlfriend: "Oh, you're Jewish? You
know, I was once married to a Jewish fellow". Very
smooth dinner conversation. I've often wondered why
old people always seem to go there when they meet
someone - "What kind of name is that? Which religion
is that?" .....honestly, who cares? Well, OK, some
people care TOO much, I guess. I know that same
girlfriend's grandmother wasn't very fond of my
family name - "That's Italian....[and with sneering
emphasis].... Catholic". I suppose it didn't help
my case when I said, "I'm not religious". Heh.
Anyway.....
Getting off-topic. Happy Birthday, Mom, whichever
one it would have been.
Or 75th. It all depends on who/what we choose to believe.
I personally saw two different birth certificates, and
when my mom first knew she was terminally ill she offered
up yet a third birth year "for accuracy".
She was, like many in that era, born at home rather than
in a hospital - supposedly. Her parents died when she was
young - supposedly. The funny part was, any time I
ever asked what exactly they died from, the answer was
only "they were very sick". All of my "aunts" told this
same vague story, but always in an "...oh....yeah, that's
it...." kind of way.
Over the years, there were suspicions from some of my
cousins that my "Aunt" Mary was actually my mother's
birthmother. That would have explained a few things,
like: my mother and my "cousin" Bill looked like
brother and sister; my "Aunt" doted on me and my
brother more than her other "nephews"; and over
and over again, my mother would accidentally refer
to my "cousin" Bill as "your uncle Bill". Hmmm....
Well, "Aunt" Mary was more than 20 years older
than my mother. I mean, it could happen - supposedly.
It wasn't until I was in my 20s that my "Aunt" admitted
to having been previously married "to a Jewish fellow".
Something tells me this was something of an issue in the
1930s, considering my mother's family was of Irish
descent. Of course, it might have been better for me
if she hadn't decided to make the admission over dinner
with my (Jewish) girlfriend: "Oh, you're Jewish? You
know, I was once married to a Jewish fellow". Very
smooth dinner conversation. I've often wondered why
old people always seem to go there when they meet
someone - "What kind of name is that? Which religion
is that?" .....honestly, who cares? Well, OK, some
people care TOO much, I guess. I know that same
girlfriend's grandmother wasn't very fond of my
family name - "That's Italian....[and with sneering
emphasis].... Catholic". I suppose it didn't help
my case when I said, "I'm not religious". Heh.
Anyway.....
Getting off-topic. Happy Birthday, Mom, whichever
one it would have been.
posted by Mr. L at 11:43 AM
4 Comments:
a little scandal in every family is a healthy thing. a LOT of scandal is not. sounds like yours has taken it with a grain of salt. who ended up raising your mom?
She always said that my "aunt" took her in after the mysterious passing of her "real" parents. But she may have been home all along...
I'm going with the aunt was your grandmother theory. It's actually a fairly common scam people pulled to avoid having to explain it to anybody.
that kind of thing is precisely why i dreaded meeting girlfriends' parents.
here via aunt michele.
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