Sadness About My Dad

I have had a couple of really sad days missing my dad.

I have been receiving some wonderful recollections about him, three which are really special since they are from family members who I haven't heard from in years. My dad had a first cousin Vivian, who I remember with tremendous joy. She lived in the DC area and my dad and she were always close.

Vivian had two kids, a son, Robert, and a daughter Susan. Susan is no longer living, but her two children, Marna and Ethan, who I still have old Christmas photos of are. And I received really special emails from all three of them (Now I am going to cry again...) Apparently my dad made quite an impression on them and influenced them all in the area of art. What a gift.

Well, Marna sent along some fabulous photos, one of my dad kicking up his heels in the air while dancing back in 1951. He loved to dance. It is a marvelous photo. When I can get it saved separately I will post it. I sent it along to the people planning his memorial service. It just captures him so well.

There are other issues relating to my dad that also bring me much sadness. The individuals managing my dad's website have not contacted the family for information related to a tribute to him, yet have written information that reads as if they are the family spokespeople.

There is information which is incorrect, including the date of my dad's death.
There will be a memorial service at FIT on the 29th of April, and a scholarship fund is being established in his memory.

There is more, but that is for another day.

Please be sure to share your love with those you love who are still living. It is so important.

Peace.

For people interested in remembering my dad with a charitable donation, there is a scholarship fund being set up at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Honoring My Dad Continued...

I love that I am stepping into my dad's world. I hate that it is because of his death. Let there be a lesson in this. How much more meaningful would it have been to share the experiences of his life and world together? But then again, that was what the dinner at the Lotus Club was the end of January, and what so many of our experiences together were when I was a child.

I have complained over the years (now living comfortably in a small, rural town) that my childhood was so not what kids enjoy...play dates, activities (I remember begging to take ballet, a classmate from elementary school danced in The Nutcracker with American Ballet Theater every year, hardly your typical dance lesson scenario) and typical kid activities. Yet only now I am I truly recognizing and honoring the rich elements of my childhood and unique experiences that have helped the master potter shape me into a unique and beautiful piece.

Often, in telling of my upbringing my adult friends have only heard about the negatives...but there are so many positives, and as I have been sharing some of them, that albeit may have made me more adult-ish at a young age, people are truly surprised (with smiles) at what I share.

I grew up the daughter of an artist. As such I was raised in an environment where beauty and creative magnificence were noticed and honored. Travel was emphasized (my love of travel dates way back) and I have had the privilege of visiting art museums...and those became my playground. Museums and opera. Hardly typical haunts of kids, at least suburbia or country kids, but not all that unusual for city kids. Those experiences have enriched me in incredible ways.

At any rate, Friday night I was able to go to the show opening at The Society of Illustrators where I really did get to enter and honor my dad's world. The art was beautiful, the people self assured and creative. I even got compliments on how I was attired, and from a group of fashion aficionados, well, let's say it was an honor. (Chicos pink jacket to the rescue...).

And the evening with Matt is a memory I will cherish when we hit bumps in our relationship that are an inevitable part of mother-son interactions. After the opening, we walked uptown along Lexington Avenue and stopped at a restaurant where he had gone with Carolyn for her birthday to have some beyond fabulous Tiramisu. Imagine, I was just in a part of the world that specializes in this, and didn't have any, but now back stateside finally did. And it was delicious.

As was the evening. Delicious. Live your life in gourmet fashion.

Peace.