Mitzi
During the four years that Joe and I dated prior to marrying, we made a fair number of trips "up home," as his parents referred to the town in upstate Pennsylvania where they'd grown up and where most of the family on both sides still resided. Sometimes we'd stay with his grandmother who lived in the rural area, but more often we'd stay with Grandma, who lived in town.
Grandma had once -- only once -- long ago had a dog. She was an orange Pomeranian and her photo was in the dining room for all of the years I ever went there. Her name had been Mitzi and she had been beloved. Although I never met this hallowed animal, I can still envision that photograph and on the rare occasion that I encounter an orange Pomeranian, I always think to myself, "That's a Mitzi-dog."
My friend Laurie has been going through things left by her recently deceased uncle and the other day she posted on Facebook about a group of photos she found, photos of people she didn't know and her mom didn't either, and it occurred to her that with the passing of her uncle, now no one would ever know who they were.
For some very peculiar unknown reason this made me think of Mitzi. Joe is now the oldest person in his family; his brother and oldest cousins are all some six or seven years younger, and while -- when pressed -- he admits to having a memory of Mitzi, none of them would.
So, when we're gone, there will be no one with real live memory of Mitzi and no one who thinks (and sometimes says aloud), "That's a Mitzi-dog." And why I felt compelled to write this post is yet another thing that no one -- self included -- will ever know.
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In recent months, The first of my siblings has passed. It changes your thought pattern. Yes, better enjoy every day, but also there is a pall on the path ahead. My sister has had some health issues that normally would not cause unusual concern, but now, what if….
So those photos capture a moment when we were carefree with a full life ahead, children as babies, now grown, Christmases shared, birthdays and graduations.
Perhaps in years they will be discarded, people wondering who were these people? But for now they are treasures of a childhood, momentous occasions, important enough to record. And you know what, there will probably be more to come because there is always something or someone in this life to be celebrated. Just pondering. Dotti in CT
I need to add information on a bazillion photos here. True confession, I'm tossing bland scenes without people or anything else of interest shown. No one will ever know.
Hugs!