Glenn had to get back to work in Dublin, but I was able to continue on to Florida afterwards to visit Mom, Mimi, Brian, Kristy, Kaeden, Yosie, Noah and many other family members and friends. This particular visit has me again contemplating the meaning of 'home'. Florida isn't my home. In fact I routinely get lost whenever I venture out on my own down there. But my mother is there and so is my last surviving grandparent. As soon as I arrive - from that first hug - Florida feels as much like home as any other place in the world. Other 'visitors' who are often there at the same time I am - namely Aunts Connie and Debby - are part of this feeling of home as well. We are all in this different place because Mimi chose to leave Manomet and settle there so many years ago and the sense of home speaks to all of us. Home is where the Mom is.
Mimi's health is failing and she's probably not going to be with us for much longer. We celebrated her 98th birthday with her on April 11. She is as old as the Republic of China, New Mexico, and the Boy Scouts Association. On the day she was born, the Titanic arrived in Ireland to pick up her last passengers before sailing for New York. Fenway Park opened 9 days later. A few months after that the Red Sox beat the New York Giants to win the 1912 world series. Mimi has lived through the roaring 20s, the Great Depression, World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, and the age of Flower Power. She has followed the exploits of Amelia Earhart, Bonnie and Clyde, Hitler, Martin Luther King, Jr., and 18 US Presidents. To say Mimi's life is a full one would be an understatement. Up until very recently Mimi has been living with verve that I can only hope to achieve some day. Even when I was there in April and she was feeling rotten, her sense of humor dominated the room. As Mimi will tell you, she's outlived her body but that smile is still there. It meets you at the door and is the last thing you see when you leave her to rest. Her jokes are still there, too. I've visited her in four different houses over the years and this latest apartment in an assisted living facility still imparts a sense of home and of Mimi. The pictures and decorative plates, the furniture, and most of all the joyful greeting are a part of me as they have been since the day I was born.
These days are hard for Mom and her sisters. They are exhausting for Mimi. I wish I could be there with them but other homes call. I am so grateful for the time I spent with all of them in April and over the years. Who knows? Maybe I will have another chance to say goodbye to Mimi when I return in July. Maybe she won't be there anymore when I next visit Florida. I do know that it will still feel like home as soon as Mom's arm are around me and some day Mimi's ghost, just like Bupa's does, will keep us all smiling and feeling at home.
