Simply Norma

I head down to the heated parking garage to start the car and take off for my dental appointment.   When the car glides over the automatic door opener, the door slowly rises and I am instantly blinded by the sun.

Between the sun and the white snow, a person almost needs sunglasses to get around in the winter.

My brain is slowly adjusting to living in Minnesota.  I recognize this on the 1/2 mile drive as I look down to see myself wearing a thin pair of leggings, a t-shirt with a not-so thick sweater over it, clogs and my “it’s warm outside” coat.  Not too bright I tell myself.  It’s in the 20’s.

Ahhh … but in Minnesota, the 20’s is warm.  I feel myself starting to puff up as I take in the thought of becoming a Minnesotan so quickly.  In mid-March it will be 4 months since I moved here.

As I pull into the parking lot, I feel anxious.  I reassure myself that it will be okay.  I’ve been to this dentist before for my 8 month cleaning.  The experts say we should go to the dentist every 6 months for a cleaning but I’ve decided that I’m my own expert.

A fitting for a new crown and a re-check of a tooth that’s been aching is what’s in store for me.  When I enter, the office manager is beaming.  This is the friendliest dental office I have been to.  I check in and sit down.  Looking around, I see that they have a play area for the children.

Dr Michael Fuller, DDS office

I pick up a magazine and thumb through it.  They’re late and I’m anxious.  I got here too early.  And I don’t like dental offices.  I’m looking for the article on “being thin in 10 days” or something to that effect.  I keep glancing at the door.  The door will open and they’ll soon call my name.

Dr. Michael Fuller, DDS, Woodbury, Mn office

It’s time.  I get up and seat myself in the dental chair.  The assistant is so pleasant.  I’ve never been to a more friendly dental office.  Dr. Fuller comes in as cheerful as the day is sunny.  He tries to work a TV remote but has no luck.  The assistant helps him and it works fine for her.  The chair tilts back and I’m lying now looking up at a mirror.

When I visited Puerto Rico a couple of years ago, I wanted to bring back a little piece of the island with me.

As we were driving towards the airport, we stopped alongside the road to pick up seeds from pods that had fallen from the trees.  One seed was from the flamboyan tree.  It is a beautiful tree that I’ve seen in deep colors of red and orange. Unfortunately, the seeds I brought back with me did not sprout.

The other seed I brought back was from the guanabana tree. This seed did sprout and at two years old is still thriving — not very tall but still striving.

Guanabana Tree

Guanabana Leaves

In English, the guanabana is known as the Soursop Tree.  Click here to read the Wikipedia article.

Vague recollections of childhood bring back memories of the many times we moved to different apartments. Growing up was a matter of survival.

We were poor but never without food or clothing.  An education was the one thing Mama insisted we have.

Mama had to leave Papi because of his alcoholism and his extreme views of Christianity.  In spite of his religion, Papi would go on drinking binges to come home and be physically and verbally abusive.  He threw my sister up against a wall once.

It took courage for Mama to leave him.  On the outside, he was handsome and affable.  But the dark side loomed within him.  Occasionally, Papi would come back to visit but he wouldn’t stay very long.

Some time in my teen years, I learned that Papi had changed his name.  No one seemed to know why although rumor has it that he was wanted for murder.

With 6 children to feed, clothe and educate, Mama stayed home and worked.  She was the June Cleaver of our day although she was very strict and didn’t mind taking a belt to us if we didn’t behave.  She would cook, clean and make sure that our basic necessities were met.  Mama would make pasteles (a Puerto Rican dish) and then go door-to-door selling them.  She was very good at doing this.  This helped us with getting school supplies, extra food and much needed clothing.

Going to school was an adventure as Mama knew how long it took us to take our tiny steps there.  She even knew how long the crossing light took to change colors.  So we had to be home on time or we would be punished.

I hated Mama.  I hated that we couldn’t go out or have any friends.  I hated that she made Papi leave.

Children are like that — they don’t see the big picture but only what’s in front of them at the time.

It wasn’t until later in life, when I was in my 20’s, that I looked back and understood most everything Mama went through.

Raising 6 children on her own with no outside job was not easy even with help from the Catholic church.  She sacrificed a lot.  She wouldn’t go out or buy fancy things — only basic necessities.  She tells me over and over again “I just wanted you all to get an education.”  And we all did.

It doesn’t matter now that I didn’t go to the prom or get high school pictures.  No high school ring for me.  At the time, I had a hard heart and pretended not to care but inside I did care about what everyone else had and I didn’t.

Mama — 85 years old now — still treats me as a child when I go “home.”  She cooks for me and buys me food (I wonder when that will stop) to make sure we don’t go hungry.  Always looking out for me.

Mama — God could have given me another but He gave me you.

Mama — How often I wanted you to hold me as a child, but you couldn’t because you had never been held so didn’t know how to show affection.

Mama — You are to be admired for all the sacrifices you made for us.

Mama — I am frugal now because of you.

Mama – You were my protector.  I made it out alive and not in a pine box because of you.

Mama — I love you and know that, unless I die first, you will be terribly missed.

Mama — You raise your eyebrows at me because you think the way I practice Christianity, so very different than you, is different.  But you never tried to change me.

My Mama

You are the best Mama God could have given me.

In a previous, I wrote about Hastings, Minnesota and the neighborhood that I drove through in looking at a house we wanted to see.  Most of those houses were cookie-cutter type houses.

I drove back again with a different “eye” to see what the town looked like.  The town itself sits on the banks of the Mississippi River and has approximately 23,000 residents.

Hastings, Minnesota Water Tower

There are a lot of homes that are different than what I saw before.  More colorful.

Hastings, Minnesota house

Hastings, Minnesota house

Hastings, Minnesota House

There is a lot of architectural detail in some of the buildings.  The house below has been converted into condos.

Old Hastings, Minnesota house

The picture below is of the Hastings Public Square City Hall and Police.

Hastings, Minnesota Public Square City Hall and Police

The downtown area reminds me of the town in the Andy Griffith Show.

Downtown Hastings, Minnesota

And, of course, every older town has to have large church buildings.  This one is the Berean Bible Baptist Church.

Berean Bible Baptist Church in Hastings, Mn

An old railroad bridge sits unused.

Hastings, Minnesota

The Hastings High Bridge, built in 1951, is scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a new bridge according to Wikipedia.

Hastings High Bridget in Hastings, Mn

A nice little quaint town.