Veteran's Holiday

As the fog rolls down over the hills above me, this time of year is an especially sad one for me. My father passed away in August of 1999 and my mother in December of 2003. This is the time of year when I should be excited about the upcoming holidays, cooking, gatherings of my children around me, friends and joyousness. I find myself hiding away more and more very much missing my mother and father. I don't return the phone calls of my friends for the want of not talking or listening to the trials and drama of their lives. Instead, I bury myself in memories of happier times long ago.

My father was a Veteran of WWII. He was a mechanic in the Army/Air force at that time and very proud family man. He was crane operator for the Local Union 3 by trade and loved to party with his brothers and extended family that moved to the "mainland" from Hawaii. My mother, for most of my life, was a stay at home mom until all of her children reached High School ages and she went back to school to receive her Diploma and went on to manage an office facility of caregivers that helped the elderly. She was a very independent woman and between the both of them, instilled good values and independence in their three children. Growing up, we were good kids, got in the usual small time rebelliousness as teens and minded our father. If not, we would get spankings from him on the butt or worse yet, the belt! I would say looking back on it now, he was a harsh disciplinarian. I love them both very much and miss them terribly during this time, a time of joy and sadness, a time of remembrance.