To my Dad

 

Being the 4th kid of 10, I was the one who sat under your arm when we went on day trips to Sandy Hook or High Point State Park. I could barely see over the dashboard, so I occupied my time watching your arm on the steering wheel and gazing at the tops of trees as we whizzed by. I remember feeling safe and secure there, tucked between you and mom, like a mouse in a warm cozy hole.
Born in Ireland and coming to the U.S. for a better life at the age of 16, you were smart, ready to jump into life in a new country with your strong spirit, and an Irish toughness. And you succeeded, you created an amazing life, an incredible legacy.
When I think of you Dad I remember how your love was always there for us, strong and steady, covering us like a warm quilt, and quiet, like the sudden hush of the birds at dawn. You let us have a beautiful childhood by taking worries off our shoulders and making us feel secure and happy. What a present to give a child.
I have such admiration and respect for you, the way you lived your life, doing the right thing no matter if someone was watching or not.
Thanks Dad, for the greatest gift, and LOVE LOVE

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To my daughter Erin, on her 39th birthday

 

I was there when you took your first breath
When you came into this world with no fuss
I marvelled at your perfect 10 fingers and toes
And your huge eyes and little nose
I had to call someone to share my joy
(Your Dad was frantically trying to get there)
So I called my Mom, who just happened to be
Crocheting your blanket, and just doing the pink
We laughed and cried, each miles apart
But the ties were strong and you grew and you learned
And you studied so hard, no matter what the circumstances
And you never complained, that's what was so lovable about you
And you never were greedy or spoiled, just grateful
Which made my heart want it all for you,
And you got that, you excelled to the top of your class
You downplayed it all, so it was even sweeter
And to us you were always the incredible gift that was given.

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Laurie McHugh Cassidy

December 25, 2014 at 1:45pm · 

Memories fill my head
Of snowy days and Santa dreams
Of hot cocoa, snow boots
Mittens frozen on my hands
Rosy cheeks and cold wet knees
Building igloos in the snow
Of Advent Wreaths
House decorated
Counting the days
In anticipation
Of Christmas morning
Tree sparkling like a thousand suns
Gifts piled high, each with a ribbon
So lovingly tied
Church, then breakfast, the day stretched on,
Christmas dinner
Our bellies so full
Our hearts content, Santa had come
We didn't know we were the lucky ones,
But we were.

You are strong

Laurie McHugh Cassidy

September 13 at 7:20pm · 

You're strong,
I see it there
Your strength..
I can feel it
And I see it too
Right through the tears
that fall on us both
Life is not easy
Though some fools say it is
Hearts can be shattered
By love and heartache
I see you standing there
With all the strength you're given
And you are so very strong
Though others may not see it
Though the world may not be nice
And the hurts fall like hard freezing rain
Doing all to bring you down
But I see through all the sadness
Your smile that does no wrong
And will lead to the sunshine
Because you are so very strong
And good where there is evil
With a heart that overcomes
All the nastiness before it
And if by chance you look this way
You'll see our connection
On the coldest day where hope is gone
I'll remind you of your strength
And I'll say once more how proud I am
To be your mother.

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Laurie McHugh Cassidy added 4 new photos.

September 15 at 12:20pm · Edited · 

To Shanna
Going into First Grade

Blue skies
Thoughts of you
Wasn't it yesterday you were holding your tiny hand out to catch the blossoms as they fell from the tree
Pink blossoms falling under blue skies
And now I picture you
At your own little desk
Braving the world of first grade
Encountering hurts and fun on the very same day
Wasn't it only yesterday that green was geen and acorns were hookcorns, your lollipop was op a dop and when you went swimming you always wore your swimming "west"..
Wasn't it only yesterday
You kissed me with angel lips
Excitedly showing me your new lighted sneakers
That glowed as you walked in the dark..
When I told you I liked them you said, "Kank you Gigi!!!"
And now you are concentrating hard
On learning the ways of the world
As your world becomes so much bigger
my world becomes so much smaller
And I think of you under the same blue sky
And wish you rainbows that never end.

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For Mom, in Thanks for a beautiful childhood, on Mother's Day, 2015


We carry our childhood with us
even onto old age..
Like sunshine twisting 
through paths of evergreens
Bringing us over and over again
to sights seen and unseen
Moving us along the current so quick
Of greens and blues
and yellow and reds
Life pushes us gently toward endings
That really seem like beginnings 
or are they just tumbleweeds
of moments and remembrance.

The lady across the street died last week. She was known in the neighborhood as the "crazy lady" or just as " the witch". As she aged I think she became a little bit nicer.. I never had a problem with her though I did see what she used to do to deserve her name..
If a ball bounced over on her grass, she would angrily yell at the kids to get off her property. If she was inside when this happened, she would angrilly rap on the window, arms flailing in the air, mouth moving and twisting this way and that in exaggerated frustration. One year when the school bus driver decided that in front of her house was a covenient place to stop, she couldn't stand it, and when the horrible little kids sat on her big tree stump one morning, the next day the tree stump was covered in goo with nails driven into the top of it. Not too much longer after that, the bus picked up the children in front of another house.
The only problem my husband and I had with her was when we first moved in across the street from her. We had parked our pick up in front of her house since the moving van took up our driveway and our other car was in front of our house. When we went outside the next day, there was a note scrawled on a piece of paper on the pick up windshield.."Park your cars and trucks in front of your own house!" Apparently she never knew that the street wasn't her domain as well.
So, I look over there, at her empty house, with the unlikely pink Spring wreath on her front  door, the property she once zealously guarded looking stark and empty, and I wonder if all the meaness she spewed during the years was worth it. She had lost her husband a long time ago I had heard and had raised her 2 kids as a single mother, never marrying again, her cats and her property her priorities.. Many days I'd see her in her favored mumus, grumbling to herself as she caught sight of a piece of litter near her curb..She'd march up to it, pick it up, walk it to the middle of the street, look bothways, then throw it, so that it fell beyond what she considered her property line.
Now all that she considered important lays silent, all the things she could have done in her life to help someone lay silent, and if walls could talk I bet you could hear her sad little house draw a big sigh.