Mothers Day

I want to share a few memories of my Mom today.

Mom really enjoyed having her sisters come over to play cards. There was a ferocity in the hands that was amusing. We were lucky to have several of Mom's family that lived in the area. Maggie the very funny one, Pauline, the very excellent cook and baker, Rose the most proper of the ladies, and their husbands and kids.

Back when I had my first paper route, a free shopping news paper, Mom would fold and rubber band all of those papers and put them in my paper route carrier so they'd be ready when I got home from school. Three days a week! Once, the paper company did a profile on 3 carriers, and my mom and I were included with a picture of me eating ice cream, while Mom folded my papers. A little staging.

She loved to Bowl. She was in a weekly league at the Sunset Bowl in Ballard.

Mom was a waitress in the Wharf restaurant, at fishermens terminal in Ballard. THe Wharf no longer exists, but it was really two places in one. The coffee show was a casual Denny's like place where the fishermen could come for breakfast dressed in work clothes. The Dining Room, where Mom normally worked was a pretty formal place. Not Canlis formal,  but well in excess of say, an Outback.

Several times Dad and Mom would pack up the car and we'd head for Reno. Both Mom and Dad preferred the informal nature of Reno compared to Vegas. Mom would play the slot machines. Those were the days that you actually had to have coins to feed in and unless you got a super jackpot, coins came out when you won. Mom always seemed to have a bucket of coins, ready to use the next day. For the kids, we always had breakfast at Harrah's. We got to walk past the casino floor, and we all had the chance to mark a Keno card as we had out pancakes.

Mom was a shopper. If there was such a thing as a college course in mall shopping, she would have led a gradate course. Northgate was her mall of choice and hours could pass as she went from store to store.

Holidays were pretty special. Some of you may have some memory of Christmas Eve at the Corcorans. It was a day we always looked forward to for the food, fun, and sure, the presents. Thanksgiving  Dinner, once that transitioned from my Grandma to my Mom was just as bountiful. Easter had baskets for the kids, hidden eggs and then there was that Easter Brunch Good memories all.

It's a day to think about Mothers.

Dad