Since Tattooed Sister's Antiques is dedicated to Mom, or Mommy as we all called her most of the time, I thought it the perfect place to share some of her ideals, sense of humor, advice, "Mom-isms", and once in awhile a 'true dat' story. So here's "What Would Sylvia... Wednesday". Stay tuned each week for something new.
You'll probably find that many of Mom's points of view and sometimes snarky responses have been passed along to Sister. In fact, it's true what they say: before you know it, you've grown up and turned into your mother. Sister is cool with being a little chunk of Sylvia here on earth although she frequently doesn't quite pull it off in as ladylike a fashion as Sylvia. Still, there is that spunky, outgoing and sometimes fierce streak that keeps Mom's presence alive. All of Sylvia's kids hear her commentary, albeit in-their-ear, on a regular basis.
Today we ask What Would Sylvia Do?
Sylvia would help a stranger whenever she felt it was the right thing to do (and she felt that was the right thing to do just about all of the time). One day we were having our usual evening chat - she was 92 or so at the time and still living in her own apartment and driving short distances. Anyway, she happened to mention that on her way home from the grocery store she stopped and offered a ride to a man with a cane or crutch who was schlepping up the hill with his groceries in the rain. After giving her the same lecture she’d have given me about picking up strangers in these times, I smiled indulgently – It was, admittedly, a good sized hill, and glowed inside. Integrity – just plain “doing the right” thing, was what it was all about with Sylvia (and with Dad as well). I don’t remember her specifically telling us things like that – she modeled them. And yeah, she could be the Mistress of Snark sometimes (a moniker I suspect I have inherited). But that’s a story for another day.
Sylvia never let a person leave her house hungry or thirsty. They may have been that way when they got there but the never left that way if she had anything to say about it. If a repair or delivery person or anyone working in her house, she always offered them something cold or hot to drink, and if it was anywhere near the noon hour she always offered to make some lunch. Nothing fancy, just whatever she had around to make – a sandwich, a bowl of soup, one of her always-on-hand-homemade cookies or cake. I have since learned that many people don't do this - maybe not even most people, but Sylvia always did. Tru dat!
One more "WWSD" for the day and then Sister must "go make the donuts" – hey, four dogs eat a lot of donuts. So, you're in a crowd and there is a person there who likely feels uncomfortable because of some obvious, or not-so-obvious reason. WWSD? Sylvia would go up to that person and say hello, and treat them as if there were no apparent difference between them and everyone else in the room. She would introduce herself and ask their name and take the conversation from there. She would make them feel a part of things. (And then she would feed them.)
Today we ask What Would Sylvia Do?
Sylvia would help a stranger whenever she felt it was the right thing to do (and she felt that was the right thing to do just about all of the time). One day we were having our usual evening chat - she was 92 or so at the time and still living in her own apartment and driving short distances. Anyway, she happened to mention that on her way home from the grocery store she stopped and offered a ride to a man with a cane or crutch who was schlepping up the hill with his groceries in the rain. After giving her the same lecture she’d have given me about picking up strangers in these times, I smiled indulgently – It was, admittedly, a good sized hill, and glowed inside. Integrity – just plain “doing the right” thing, was what it was all about with Sylvia (and with Dad as well). I don’t remember her specifically telling us things like that – she modeled them. And yeah, she could be the Mistress of Snark sometimes (a moniker I suspect I have inherited). But that’s a story for another day.
Sylvia never let a person leave her house hungry or thirsty. They may have been that way when they got there but the never left that way if she had anything to say about it. If a repair or delivery person or anyone working in her house, she always offered them something cold or hot to drink, and if it was anywhere near the noon hour she always offered to make some lunch. Nothing fancy, just whatever she had around to make – a sandwich, a bowl of soup, one of her always-on-hand-homemade cookies or cake. I have since learned that many people don't do this - maybe not even most people, but Sylvia always did. Tru dat!
One more "WWSD" for the day and then Sister must "go make the donuts" – hey, four dogs eat a lot of donuts. So, you're in a crowd and there is a person there who likely feels uncomfortable because of some obvious, or not-so-obvious reason. WWSD? Sylvia would go up to that person and say hello, and treat them as if there were no apparent difference between them and everyone else in the room. She would introduce herself and ask their name and take the conversation from there. She would make them feel a part of things. (And then she would feed them.)
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