August First

Wow, it's the first of August! Part of the Wow Factor is because the summer is really flying by, but the main part of the Wow is because of the importance of this date as a birthday for so many of my relatives and friends.

My grandmother, Helen, (we always called her Gram Pat) was born on August 1, 1910 in Jackson Springs, NC. She was a wonderful, strong woman, one of 14 kids. She was the last of her siblings when she passed. Oh I love her so much... I know she prayed for me every single day. Whether I blessed her or worried her, she prayed! My mother has very different memories of her, since she had to work nights when my mom was little, and I just can't imagine it. My father left us when I was 2, and Gram moved in to help take care of me and my little brother. She left her house, her belongings, everything. In fact, because she was staying with us and not using her house in DC, the pipes burst there and she ended up moving in with us for good. She was strict and loving. I am so blessed to have had her in my life! I still can hear her telling ghost stories over a little tea party in my bedroom... "Who's got my golden arm.... Whoooooooo's got my gooooolden arm... YOU DO!"

Gram's second son, Jon, was born on August 1. He was my "Uncle Sooey." He was one of my favorite people on the planet. He would come by for a visit on his Honda motorcycle (which I loved!) and as he left, he would always say, "Bye, Sweetie!" I tried and tried to say "sweetie," but the best I could come up with was "Sooey," so it stuck! Poor man was labeled Uncle Sooey for the rest of his life. Good thing he didn't mind - that is, as long as it was ME calling him that! Sooey died of lung cancer almost two years ago. There is definitely a hole in my heart that only his memory fills...

Sooey's second son, Chuck, was also born on August 1! How cool is that! (Happy Birthday, Chuckie!)

My father-in-law, Howard, was born August 1, 1923. Have you ever seen Everybody Loves Raymond? If so, Howard was Frank. Born in Queens, he had the same accent and mannerisms, attitudes and much of the same history (except he fought in WWII, not Korea.) He was a tough man to deal with sometimes, but in the end I was so glad to have gotten to know him. We got to spend lots of time together during his last couple of years on earth, and I am grateful for the experience.

Oh yeah, my Gram's best friend, Mrs. Blackmon, was also born August 1. I think she was one year older than Gram, and she was a neat lady who taught me to love to work with yarn. She always had something going on!

There are many more, but these are the folks in my family that I either wish a very happy birthday to, or am honoring their memory on this, their birthday.