Well, its been quite a week. As you probably saw from an earlier post a dear friend of the family passed away last Saturday. Her name to me was Mrs. Ribeiro. Their family and ours lived across the street from each other and in a very real sense, we were all raised together. They had 7 kids to our 5 and we all matched up in age somehow. Its impossible to think of my childhood without thinking of them, and in turn of their mom.
My sister Kathy refers to her as "My Idol." They had a bond that I wouldn't really wish on anyone. You see, they both lost a son in a very sudden and very tragic way. Considering they were already close and already had a strong bond, when Patrick passed away Mrs. R was able to be there for my sister in a way no one else could. When she became very ill and was still out there, living it up and smiling and laughing, my sister would say, "She is awesome. My Idol. I don't know how she does it."
Back in March at the St. Patrick's Day to Remember Party I told Mrs. Ribeiro about how much my sister admired her (as if she didn't know!). She just sort of shook her and shrugged and told me she was crazy. She did that hand wave of dismissal and quickly changed the subject. She was clearly uncomfortable with the title of "Idol." It was really tough shit for her though because trying to tell my sister any different was like, well, trying to tell Mrs. R!!
In so many ways my sister is MY idol. She has that iron core and bluntness about her that she loved so much in her's. You cannot go anywhere, I mean anywhere, without Kathy running into someone she knows. And there is never a moment of quiet "I know them, but I"m not sure I should say hi." shyness that I struggle with. This is because the other person is usually screaming out her name and running over to catch up and chat. If I go somewhere without her and people know me as "the little Curran" they always, always ask about my sister first.
My sister Kathy refers to her as "My Idol." They had a bond that I wouldn't really wish on anyone. You see, they both lost a son in a very sudden and very tragic way. Considering they were already close and already had a strong bond, when Patrick passed away Mrs. R was able to be there for my sister in a way no one else could. When she became very ill and was still out there, living it up and smiling and laughing, my sister would say, "She is awesome. My Idol. I don't know how she does it."
Back in March at the St. Patrick's Day to Remember Party I told Mrs. Ribeiro about how much my sister admired her (as if she didn't know!). She just sort of shook her and shrugged and told me she was crazy. She did that hand wave of dismissal and quickly changed the subject. She was clearly uncomfortable with the title of "Idol." It was really tough shit for her though because trying to tell my sister any different was like, well, trying to tell Mrs. R!!
In so many ways my sister is MY idol. She has that iron core and bluntness about her that she loved so much in her's. You cannot go anywhere, I mean anywhere, without Kathy running into someone she knows. And there is never a moment of quiet "I know them, but I"m not sure I should say hi." shyness that I struggle with. This is because the other person is usually screaming out her name and running over to catch up and chat. If I go somewhere without her and people know me as "the little Curran" they always, always ask about my sister first.
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