We Are Grateful to Kitty

I am grateful for the magical mix that is Kitty Mum - wit without harshness;
care and love without smothering; a solid ration of daily life irreverence,
yet prayerful for those of us who need it; political skepticism, though
hopeful for something better; a wry smile; exceptional smarts while exuding
humility; steel and gentleness; sweet and tart.

In other words, the ageless perfection that is KittyMum - a woman for all seasons.

Happy 90th birthday!!!

Teaching us to swim at Pine Waters.

How to run fast (to dodge the flicking dishcloth).

How to fearlessly slay garter snakes.

I think a healthy fear of alligators is one of the 90 reasons I love KittyMum, especially given my current geographical location.

Also she has been a great testament that one can age gracefully, and be graceful through many different ages.

Her sandwich creations. We would pull every imaginable sandwich filling/spread out of the fridge to see what she would put together.

How to paint my fingernails and to appreciate brightly colored nails.

To appreciate the smell of coffee and English muffins.

Instructions in the rules of etiquette.

To appreciate skinny dipping

For sharing the secret handshake and how to make owl and Eskimo and butterfly kisses.

To appreciate the tradition of reading.

For allowing me to share the 3rd floor bedroom with her.

For KittyMum's ability to create a level of anxiety with the waggle of a single, painted fingernail.

For driving without seat belts.

For being my first Catholic mentor.

For making each grandchild feel most important.

For making witches with peanuts in ice cream sundaes.

For conserving water—no long showers.

For warning us about the big, bad pipsissiwa (sp?) just outside the door.

For wearing bright lipstick.

For piano music wafting through the farmhouse.

For cackling like a witch.

For creating “drunken” raisins with Poppop.

For imbuing us with the rapture of good food ingredients.

For her gardening methods using mulch. Mother was a follower of Ruth Stout, known to garden in the nude. Ruth Stout lived into her 90s. One of her books was Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent.

For her ideas on nutrition. While we ate our lunch of tomato or chicken noodle soup, with toasted cheese sandwiches, KittyMum consumed Gayelord Hauser’s 5 wonder foods: yogurt, brewer’s yeast, powdered skim milk, wheat germ, and especially blackstrap molasses. Mother added buttermilk. I remember her copy of Look Younger; Live Longer.