The Weekend Ramble comes in many shapes. Sometimes funny,
sometimes educational, often quite personal. I share personal experiences and
beliefs because they have shaped me to the man I am today. They have also
influenced my cooking. To that end, let me introduce you to the woman who
always told us that the secret to her insanely good meatballs was that she coughed on
them.......
Her birthday is tomorrow, July 9, and my guess is she's having a party somewhere up in heaven.
Help me celebrate her life today. :-)
Sometimes life has a way of working itself out.
In 1979 I met the woman I proudly call Mom to this day, even
though she is no longer with us. We still communicate all the time, because she
and I have a bond I will never let go. When she died, I wanted nothing more
than to stand before the world and share just how amazing she was, but as heavy
as my heart was, I knew I was not going to be able to do so in a spoken eulogy.
So I set it to the written word, and you know.... I'm glad I did, because now I
can share my love, joy and pride with you. If you don't know her already, you
are about to meet my Mom, the most amazing woman I have ever met. (Besides my
Carolyn, of course)
A Written Tribute to Mom
...'cause there's no way I could get through this cohesively
in person.
Concetta Vitale. . . Connie. . . our wife, our mother, our
sister. . ... Our grandmother, aunt and friend. . . . Connie, the often
loudmouthed, loving General who was adored by all because she never pulled
punches; she never judged and she always, without fail, told you what you
needed to hear, whether you liked it or not.
Connie, the consummate caregiver, the woman who gave of
herself always, the woman who loved unconditionally, the matriarch who would
rip you a new one without hesitation if she felt you needed it. Funny thing
is...... she was always right when she did so.
I knew her simply as Mom, because that's who she was and
always will be to me. I met Mom back in 1979, the same year my father passed
away, when she invited me to dinner at her home when Carolyn and I were still
dating. Having come from a very quiet home, I was somewhat shell-shocked when
Dad showed me his gun collection in the first twenty minutes and I found the
dinner table to be buzzing with at least six simultaneous conversations. Mom,
of course, was apart of each and every one. And even though Carolyn had gone
completely against Mom's wishes by bringing home a guy with a beard and a van,
Mrs. V. welcomed me with open arms and immediately did what she did so well...
she fed me. When I was full and tried to pass on a third helping, she fed me
some more with a reason I have heard hundreds of times since then......
"....But it's good!"
From that day forth, I knew I was going to be not just her
son-in-law, but her son. She taught me the virtues of Italian family by
example. She gave me love, she gave me laughter, she smacked me in back of the
head. She tested every whole wheat on the pasta on the market so that I'd eat
well after learning of my heart disease. Mom taught me how to give without
expecting anything in return, because that's what she did best.....give from
the heart.
Connie's love for her family blossomed more and more with
the arrival of each grandchild. Steve, Dillon, Alexa, Mario, Sofia, Silvio and
Santino.... The seven of you are blessed to have been nurtured as well as
yelled at by Grandma. Think about those times and remember them always.....
Face Brutte, Precious Heart, Precious Liver..... Who besides Grandma can say
those loving words and have them mean as much as they did?
Mom's Parkinson's disease, as we all know, took a severe toll
on this strong woman. Not being able to care for others frustrated her to no
end. That was her main concern.... the family. Connie hated this disease with a
passion and fought it to the best of her ability.... Not for herself, but for
her family. Her surgery last Monday, which coincided with her birthday, was
supposed to give back some of her mobility. This past weekend was the best she
had had in a long time. She was upbeat, smiling, laughing, and several times
she said that for her birthday, she was going to become a new person. Of course
we all related that to a successful outcome to the surgery....
But Mom, as always, was one step ahead of us.
You got your wish, Mom... no more pain, no more pills, no
more walker, no more damned oxygen hose. Mom, you are indeed a new person now…
you're an angel in heaven.
Blessed be.....and ride in Peace.
Thank you, Carolyn, Marion and Lydia for sharing your Mom
with me.
Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!
Blessed be… and happy cooking!
Chef Michael R
