Rosemary Monaco 1930-2008

Rosemary was everything you could expect of an Italian lady from NJ- independent, feisty, vain, irresistible. For as long as I can remember, she was always out, or on her way out- playing golf or tennis, bowling, bingo, traveling the world with her girlfriends, or walking the NJ boardwalk. She always had a radio playing, or the TV on (or both) and had cookies in the freezer that she was ready to defrost and serve with tea (or powdered milk!).
She was mom, sister, aunt, wife, but most importantly, she was my Nana. She was the one who I HAD to sit next to at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. She was always breaking the rules. She would let me sip her coffee, chew gum, and fiddle around on the piano, instead of doing my piano lessons! When she would babysit, she would let me stay up past my bedtime cuddling on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy, and she’d get me to bed just before my parents came home. Or, if she insisted on putting me to bed, I would get her to stay in my bedroom by asking her stories about her childhood, or her siblings, or whatever I could think to ask her about. Before I was 21, she would order “herself” a glass of wine for me.




When Nana was first sick, she had a tenacious desire for life. This enabled her to fight through several terrible bouts of pneumonia, rehabilitating even her ability to feed herself, and re-learning how to walk several times. And like the true survivor that she was, she was out playing golf again. I remember one day talking to her on the phone. She said to me “I hope it rains tomorrow so that I don’t go play golf. I’m not feeling very well.” I think she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia a day or two later. She lived her life to the full, even when it was risky for her health. Because she fought to live, she was able to meet my son Leif this past May.
I believe that God puts grandparents in our lives to demonstrate His unconditional love. Nana was unconditionally loving towards me- I didn’t have to do anything to earn her love, she loved me simply because I was her granddaughter. I remember surprising her with a visit one time. She opened her door and was so excited to see me. She said to me, "At first I couldn’t figure out if it was really you, or if I thought it was you because I wanted to see you so badly".

This has been a big year for me. In March, I became a mom. Now in October, I lay down my title as granddaughter, and pass that on to the next generation. My son is now “grandson”, my mom is now his “Nana”. It’s funny, I think that being a granddaughter was probably one of my favorite roles that I will ever play in life. Although, I think being “mom” might rival that enjoyment.

Leif- Seven Months Old

It's hard to believe that Leif is already 7 months old. I remember thinking around this time last year that I would have a baby who could already sit- and then the thought flew out of my head about as fast as it came in because I think I couldn't handle it. And right on queue, all of a sudden Leif can sit on his own. He was balancing on my lap, and could even sit in a booster seat, but now, he can do it all on his own. Not well- he topples over very easily still, but I know it won't be long before he'll be pulling himself into a sitting position. Crazy!

NJ- September 2008

Leif and I flew up to NJ to visit family for 8 days. We went up as a family in May, but Charles' next planned visit is Christmas, and that was just too long for me to be away. I felt a little crazy traveling with a baby alone, and honestly the day before I left for the trip, if I didn't have a flight reservation, I probably would have chickened out altogether. Charles was able to escort me all the way to the gate. (which really helped- getting a baby, a stroller, a car seat, a car seat base, a carry on bag, etc, thru security was a daunting task) Many people must have been praying for me because on the flight up I sat next to the nicest woman, who didn't mind that Leif wanted to chew on her purse strap and grab at her colorful scarf. Also, my child who never ever falls asleep in our arms, slept on my lap for the last hour of the flight.





We made it to NJ in time for my niece Hailey's 3rd birthday party. It was great to arrive in NJ and see all of my close family the first day there. Leif was amazing our entire trip. He was very flexible- eating and sleeping in strange places without much struggle.
Heather and I met took the 3 kids (2 babies and a toddler!) up to my dad's place in NY state for the weekend. My dad and Patricia drove up to meet us. But, Heather and I arrived several hours before them and had some kid drama along the way.



When we arrived at the house, we couldn't get the heat to turn on. It was 60 degrees in the house, so we had all the kids bundled up, babies jumping in their jumpers while we carried all of the pack and plays, bags, etc. into the house. I reached my dad to ask him about the heat, and he says "I think I know what you can do. Go downstairs and-" his cell phone cut out. So, Heather finally got in touch with Pete who remembered a reset button downstairs and that worked to get the heat going. Saturday morning I did Hailey's 3 year pictures while Dad and Patricia watched the babies. And apparently they had so much fun doing that, they offered to watch all three kids so that Heather and I could go out to dinner together.









My mom and I got to go shopping together- and Leif was the beneficiary! He got an adorable outfit from Baby Gap for this winter, and two hats from Old Navy. Fun shopping with Nana!









We also got to visit with Leif's boy cousins Andy and Sammy. Leif really enjoyed watching them! And they were very good with him.







I got a chance to visit with my Nana who is very sick. It was a really hard visit. She has a tracheotomy, and was on a ventilator so she wasn't able to talk at all, although she tried. I cried a lot and told her as much as I could think to tell her about Leif and all of the wonderful things he is doing these days. It was really good, but the next day I felt as though I had run a marathon.
When it was time to return home, I was very torn. Spending time with my family is so wonderful, especially now to see Leif with his cousins. But, I was very ready to be back home with Charles (just wishing home was closer). Again, we had a wonderful experience flying home- the plane with only 3/4 full, so they gave Leif a seat next to me, so I was able to bring his carseat, and he slept thru take off. Flying into Atlanta was wonderful- and reminded me of all of the times I visited Charles when we were dating- he even had a bouquet of flowers for me.