Happy Birthday~!

I noticed the calendar this morning as I have every year for the past 15 years. (and then some) Today is my Big Busia's birthday. She was born February 6, 1913. It's been 15 years since I have been able to tell her happy birthday in person. She died June 27, 1993 only 10 days after my 13th birthday. I said a silent prayer for her this morning and realized that she was probably spending her birthday with her two sons around a card table up there.

I cannot even begin to express how much I miss her. I don't talk about her half as much as I should. My girls should know what an incredible woman she was. I loved her. Everyone loved her. Good old Martha Darga. It makes me so sad when my mom talks about her and to this day gets tears in her eyes. I can't even type without wiping the tears from mine. I always felt I was robbed. I wish that my Busia could have lived to see the person I have become. I feel that my kids were robbed because they never got to meet her.

Big Busia was a riot! I have very fond memories of her with her rolled up newspaper in her walker bag beating the cat off the counters, or the year we went to Posen and mom and Dad went to a New Years Eve dance and left us to party with Busia. She used to come and spend the winters with us in Romeo. Uncle Jug would bring her at Thanksgiving time and she would stay thru Easter. Every child my mom had, Busia was here to help. I always tell my mom that I could never handle having her live with me for months at a time (but secretly I would love it.) My Busis always protected us kids from trouble. If Dad would get mad at us for one reason or another Busia would always pipe in and speak up for us. Drove Dad nuts, but we always got off the hook. Now my Dad does the same things with my own children and it makes me giggle.

I learned so much from Busia. She sat for countless hours and taught me to crochet. She had arthritis so bad, but she kept "heckling" away. She would sit for hours upon hours and make doilies, angels, blankets, night gowns, dresses for every singe one of our dolls and yes, even crocheted Barbie sleeping bags. She taught me how to sew and let me just say my Barbies had more little pillows than any Barbie on the block- all sewn by me. I even helped her make throw pillows for the couches. She was incredible.

I was just telling my own mother at Christmas time the irony of it all. Decades ago my Busia made these Christmas ornaments out of avocado and gold bulbs with beads and straight pins. When we were kids, we used to have to put them on the tree out of courtesy. We would hide them as far back and as far inside as we could. After us kids all got our own houses and families and trees, my mom divided up the dozen ornaments that she had and gave us all two. Now, I proudly display my gold and avocado green ornaments plain as day at the top of my tree. It makes me proud to have them and I get to tell my kids the story of them every time they are placed on the tree. I am sure they will feel the same way about them until they are old enough to appreciate the memories behind them.

This past Thanksgiving, I tried my hand at baking bread for the first time and the whole time I thought of Busia. She used to take her homemade bread dough and deep fry it (yeah- healthy, I know) Then we would dip it in syrup. Oh my gosh. Its been at least a decade, but I can still taste it. And cinnamon rolls. YUM! She was remarkable! I only hope that one day I can be half the woman that she was. She raised 5 great kids and ran a home and a farm. I miss her.

The only thing I can be thankful for is that I have a mother who was raised by this woman and there isn't a day that goes by that I don' t thank the good Lord for her. She would bend over backwards and do whatever we needed to do if we asked her. I have a Dad who does the same and a husband who is so very appreciative of everything they do.

Happy Birthday Big Busia. We love you and we miss you everyday.