Healing

One month after my husband passed away my youngest daughter Ann called me up and asked, “Would you like to go to a retreat at the Loyola house in Morristown with me?”

I said, “Yes.”

My husband had been there several times. For me it would be the first time. By the time I went home I understood more about death. I kept praying that my husband's soul would rest in peace.

Ann invites me to her home for a week every three or four months. She picks me up. Every time I go she takes me to visit my husband's grave. We also visit relatives. There is a sister-in-law, Lunette, who lives in Dover, N.J., 15 minutes from Ann's. We go and visit and have lunch together. Her husband is 83, she is 78, and they still run a small flower business. Lunette does all the paperwork. Ann, Dick and family all go for a fancy dinner at the country club. They are good to me. The grandchildren all love to have me stay at their home. Year by year I see them grow.

Since my husband passed away, I have to attend all the family affairs alone. It took a long time to get used to it. I still give the grandchildren their birthday bonds. They also get bonds for eighth grade and high school graduation and gifts when they graduate from college. I also give them $50 for an engagement gift, $50 at the wedding shower and $100 dollars when they get married.

Judy, our oldest grandchild, and her husband Gary, bought a house in a town near San Diego, California. Our oldest son's daughter Joanne and her husband bought a house in Dumont, N.J. Judy and Joanne are both nurses.

I have joined the senior citizens club in Closter. We meet twice a month. We can have our blood pressure taken for free. We have a cup of coffee and a bun after the meeting, then we play bingo. The ones that know how to play cards get a table and play cards. We go on day trips once a month. About 50 members come to the meetings. There are more than 100 members. Once a year we go to either Wildwood Crest or the Poconos for five days and four nights. The members are from 60 to 89. They are going to lower the age for joining to 55; we will have a larger group then. All in all it's a good thing for older people to belong to.

The Lions Club gives us money to have a Christmas party. We go out to celebrate at a fancy restaurant. We also get treated to an Anniversary dinner. I enjoy belonging because I have made many friends my own age. We have the same things to talk about. Saint Mary's also has a senior citizen club. We meet once a month. About 20 people belong. Coffee and cake is served at the meetings. Once in a while we go to lunch. We pay 50 cents a month to belong. Once we gave a luncheon to celebrate the birthday of the oldest member and an old friend, Marie Tobia. She was 69 years old.

1976 Since my husband passed away, a granddaughter, Sharon, has graduated from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y. as a physical therapist. I went to her graduation. While I was taking a picture of her, I fell and hurt my knee pretty badly. I had to keep a bandage on the knee for quite a while. Thank God, it finally got better.

Sharon's parents gave her a big graduation party the day after the ceremonies. All the relatives were invited. Sharon got a job in a hospital in Florida; she lived there for one year. She took a black cat with white around her neck with her. She named the cat Tuxedo.