Celebrating Grandma ... and other things, too

Catherine Puzzuoli was laid to rest on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony, and a very eloquent priest at SS. John and Paul Parish summarized her life, her faith and her dedication to her family perfectly. Here are some of the remarks that Father Dave made that will stick with me.

• That Italian women are anchors – they are anchored in their families, in food, in their faith. He recognized our pain saying it is hard to lose such an anchor in a family.
• That she and Albert had such a strong marriage. He said, "It was one of those marriages where the two really do become one." She really never recovered from his death. It was so hard to see her miss him so much.
• She was a woman who knew grief in her life. All of her 4 brothers preceded her in death, including her youngest brother Joe whom she helped raise. He was only 5 years older than Joe-Dad.
• That she was "earthy." She butchered chickens, worked in the garden, took care of her children and grandchildren ... and was comfortable in that role and knew that it was what God wanted for her. She could also put on fancy clothes and go to nice events, or to church. She knew who she was.
• That she had an unshakable faith. She never questioned it. She was always comfortable in it.

And Jill and Jim also made wonderful remarks about her, telling stories from the past, and how she touched everyone's lives. Everyone said such wonderful things that I can't remember it all. I am only very happy that everyone shared all the beautiful things about her.

It was a fitting farewell.

And then we had a birthday party . . .

At first, he was timid about the cake ... hey do you want to try this frosting?


Then he got his hands into it a little more . . .


Then he plunged . . .


And finally, frosting all the way up his nostrils!


His birthday was actually last Wednesday – two days after Grandma died, but Joe and Kathy and all the family threw together a special party for him Sunday, complete with his own cake and presents that they all went and bought the morning before. It was fun.

Despite the fact that this past year has been without question the hardest of my life, I cannot feel like a total victim because this little guy has brought me enormous joy. Watching him grow, become active and ornery has added so much humor to our lives that despite the difficulties, we feel very blessed for sure. Isn't life funny that way?


And while we lost a Grandma recently, Aunt Joanne became a Grandma for the first time. Mark and Traci's little one, Gabriella Catherine, was born February 23rd. She's a beauty and there's no question that Grandma Joanne is going to be the next Grandma Extraordinaire!