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Showing posts with the label grandmothers

"De Calf!" A Goofy Poem (for Rhia)

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I am spending a perfectly goofy day with Rhia, my granddaughter, drawing pictures (Rhia) and writing goofy poems (me). Rhia noticed this "De Calf" magnet notepad on our refrig, something that has been there forever and largely unnoticed, but credit a kid for noticing details like that--always seeing things in a new way. So we have been playing around with drawings (see Rhia.tv for some of her drawings from the past two days) and poems on it. I wrote this silly piece of fluff (Pictured in image above) for Rhia: There was a little calf Who loved to swim in decaf, The hotter and sweeter The better, sometimes With cream, Sometimes not, But always diving in With a toothy grin. Sometimes it's just good to have a frivolous day with someone you love.

Thought for the Day--May 8, 2011: Happy Mother's Day to "MO" and to ALL Moms

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My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. --Mark Twain My grandmother, Katherine Olive Quirk Semple (known in the family as "Mo") acted as my mom; she raised me for most of my life, stepping in for her daughter, my mother. As I grow older, I really appreciate the sacrifice involved: Mo was 57 when she and Dee Dee, my grandfather , took me in for good, and 61 when they formally adopted me as their child. Jennifer, age 7, on her way to a temporary custody hearing, Los Angeles Courthouse. Photograph by Olive Semple, the Queen of the backside photo _______________________________ I can't imagine what it must have been like to take in a child when you're facing your Social Security years. Mo was forward-thinking in that she pushed the adoption into motion years before applying for Social Security. She also knew what adoption might mean to me--my mother would legally become my sister (How weird is that?) and would lose all parental rights-

Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment