RIP Teresa
A very dear and close friend of the family passed away yesterday. Her family said she passed in her sleep. She has been sick for a few years now. The last time I saw her she asked me if I remembered her. I probably spent as much time at her house between the ages of 4-13 as I did at home. In the summers I definitely spent more time at her house. Her granddaughter and I were the same age and we were very close as kids.
We both came from similar homes and really related well to one another. Both our parents were split up and our moms remarried but our dad's never did. Our grandmothers (funnily both on our dad's side) were neighbors, They grew up in the same town but they were never friends. Teresa's family had a little money and my gram was one of 15 kids. But they became best friends when Kristina and I were babies.
I still remember what I think of as "meeting Teresa" I was standing in the driveway with my gram, she was holding my hand and we were walking towards the road. Teresa was walking by with Kristina. They were coming from the little store that was a few hundred feet from my gram's house. Teresa's inlaws owned the store and went in there often to see her family. So Teresa stopped to say hi to my gram, they knew each other and lived on the same street and in that town everyone is nice to everyone (well in 1980 they were) Kristina and I were both shy so we were both kind of hiding behind our grams. She was eating Doritos and offered me some. I took some because my gram would never of bought those! (But she'd take me to the store of ice cream in the blink of an eye). So I don't know if that is when I officially met Teresa and Kristina but I remember being then. The next 10 years Kristina and I were inseparable in the summers when we both spent the vast majority of our time with our gram's. Hers was meme mine was gram and we were the apples of their eyes. We were both the only girls in our families. Teresa and my gram both had all boys. So we were special.
My gram spoiled me but Teresa spoiled Kristina rotten. Looking back she was a little brat but I didn't care as a kid. All I knew was being with Kristina you got spoiled by proxy. Teresa was the best. She always had the fancy popsicles in her giant freezer in the basement. She never ever ran out. She would buy 4 boxes at a time. She put in a pool one year and became the house from then on. Even my little cousin Brandon who is 9 years younger would hang out at Teresa's. I remember dozens of trips to Mass with Teresa to buy lottery tickets cause Mass had better ones than NH. She would carry around a damp wash cloth in a baggie for when we made messes with our sticky fingers. (She really should get credit for inventing the wet-nap in my mind). Kristina and I drifted apart when I moved to Florida at 15. I haven't seen her in 15 years probably. But I would still see Teresa. She was at my bridal shower and at my wedding. I wouldn't of had it any other way. I loved her like family. She gave me my first ever purse. It was red and giant. Kristina and I would fill them with candy and stickers and take them where ever we went. Teresa lived in front of the cemetery where my meme and pepe were buried. We would walk over and make rubbings of the graves. She always let us play dress up with her clothes and makeup nothing was ever off limits. We would plaster our faces in her lipstick. OK this is harder than I thought and I am bawling at this point. It just really hit me. I will never see her again and its killing me.
I know I hadn't seen you in much in the past years, I think it was too hard from gram to see you like that. I think you reminded her of her own mortality. But I loved you and you will always have a very special place in my heart.
I don't have any pictures of her on my computer. I should scan some from the albums I borrowed from gram. These two Teresa gave me at my bridal shower. She took them at her house. One is of me playing dress up and the other is me and Kristina on the day of our tap recital. I am the ham on the right making a face in case you can't tell.
We both came from similar homes and really related well to one another. Both our parents were split up and our moms remarried but our dad's never did. Our grandmothers (funnily both on our dad's side) were neighbors, They grew up in the same town but they were never friends. Teresa's family had a little money and my gram was one of 15 kids. But they became best friends when Kristina and I were babies.
I still remember what I think of as "meeting Teresa" I was standing in the driveway with my gram, she was holding my hand and we were walking towards the road. Teresa was walking by with Kristina. They were coming from the little store that was a few hundred feet from my gram's house. Teresa's inlaws owned the store and went in there often to see her family. So Teresa stopped to say hi to my gram, they knew each other and lived on the same street and in that town everyone is nice to everyone (well in 1980 they were) Kristina and I were both shy so we were both kind of hiding behind our grams. She was eating Doritos and offered me some. I took some because my gram would never of bought those! (But she'd take me to the store of ice cream in the blink of an eye). So I don't know if that is when I officially met Teresa and Kristina but I remember being then. The next 10 years Kristina and I were inseparable in the summers when we both spent the vast majority of our time with our gram's. Hers was meme mine was gram and we were the apples of their eyes. We were both the only girls in our families. Teresa and my gram both had all boys. So we were special.
My gram spoiled me but Teresa spoiled Kristina rotten. Looking back she was a little brat but I didn't care as a kid. All I knew was being with Kristina you got spoiled by proxy. Teresa was the best. She always had the fancy popsicles in her giant freezer in the basement. She never ever ran out. She would buy 4 boxes at a time. She put in a pool one year and became the house from then on. Even my little cousin Brandon who is 9 years younger would hang out at Teresa's. I remember dozens of trips to Mass with Teresa to buy lottery tickets cause Mass had better ones than NH. She would carry around a damp wash cloth in a baggie for when we made messes with our sticky fingers. (She really should get credit for inventing the wet-nap in my mind). Kristina and I drifted apart when I moved to Florida at 15. I haven't seen her in 15 years probably. But I would still see Teresa. She was at my bridal shower and at my wedding. I wouldn't of had it any other way. I loved her like family. She gave me my first ever purse. It was red and giant. Kristina and I would fill them with candy and stickers and take them where ever we went. Teresa lived in front of the cemetery where my meme and pepe were buried. We would walk over and make rubbings of the graves. She always let us play dress up with her clothes and makeup nothing was ever off limits. We would plaster our faces in her lipstick. OK this is harder than I thought and I am bawling at this point. It just really hit me. I will never see her again and its killing me.
I know I hadn't seen you in much in the past years, I think it was too hard from gram to see you like that. I think you reminded her of her own mortality. But I loved you and you will always have a very special place in my heart.
I don't have any pictures of her on my computer. I should scan some from the albums I borrowed from gram. These two Teresa gave me at my bridal shower. She took them at her house. One is of me playing dress up and the other is me and Kristina on the day of our tap recital. I am the ham on the right making a face in case you can't tell.
Comments
Here is a hug for you 3---|---E
Love you darling.