Loss of My Mother

One day my mother went in the garden to tie some tomatoes. While doing so, she got a wire in her hand and went home. She had some wash soaking. I happened to be there. She asked me if I would wash the clothes for her. I had to say that I couldn't. I was getting the pains across my chest and under my shoulders; also my baby was crying. I feel bad to this day that I was not able to help her.

During the night her hand became swollen. Tony took her to the hospital; she had blood poisoning. Then her arm became swollen, and things got worse. In those days they didn't have antibiotics they have today. So, in one week she died. If it were today, she could have been saved. She was 57 years old. We had a nice funeral for her. I took her death very hard.

I felt sorry for my sister who got married at 17 and was now separated from her husband. She lived with a cousin in New York City. She only had my mother who really loved her; now she lost her. She cried a lot at the wakes.

My two younger brothers were Tony, 18 years old, and Nick, 15 years old. My father was 63. After a few months my sister Cora, her husband, and baby went to live with them on the second floor of their home.

I not only lost a mother. I also lost my best friend. She and I could converse about anything and enjoyed being together. She was a sweet, easy-going person. I would take all my problems to her, and enjoy talking to her. She used to say she was happy she had me, because I was such a good daughter.

I remember one episode. My mother would wash and starch my dresses, then iron them beautifully. They looked like new dresses. I had a girlfriend; her parents were butchers. Well, she used to ask her mother if she would ask my mother Carmela to wash and starch and iron her dresses so she could look like me. My mother said that she would do it. In return they paid her by giving her some free meat. That also helped my mother.

I had another girlfriend, Loretta, from the city, who stayed at our home for a week's vacation. Her face was full of pimples. So my mother asked her if she would allow her to work on her pimples. The girl was quite pretty. The girl said she would love the help. My mother beat two egg whites stiff and rubbed them all over the girl's face. The egg whites got stiff. She kept them on all night, and in the morning washed them off. After one week of this Loretta's face was much improved. The girl thanked my mother very much.

I missed my mother terribly, but I kept thanking God for good in-laws, a loving husband and a baby. My father felt lost without my mother. I tried to teach my youngest brother Nick how to cook and how to make balanced meals, because he chose to be the cook. He did very well.

Through all this I didn't feel too well and I didn't care to eat, so my husband took me to the doctor and the doctor said I was about two months pregnant with our second child. It really came as a surprise, because it was believed that a woman who was nursing her baby could not get pregnant. Well, I got pregnant. My son John was eight months old when I got pregnant. I was still getting the attacks of pains once in a while. The doctor would give me an injection and that would dull the pain and then I would feel 'Bla' for a day or so.

While all this was going on, my husband was offered a job as foreman of one of the rose plantations. He would have eight men working under him. The only drawback was that we would have to live on the rose plantation in order to get the job. My husband and I talked it over and decided to try our luck. We had to move to the next town, called Florham Park.