My mother is an introverted dynamo. By that I mean she has managed to hide how shy she is in order to make a name for herself in business and money for her family. She reminds me of the Donna Reed character, Mary, in "It's a Wonderful Life". Without her "George" (really named "Roger") she would have likely become a skittish single librarian. Roger, my father, with all his charms and pedigree, was not a good bread-winner. Mom, called OJ, eventually tired of the shoestring approach to raising 5 children and headed off to NYC to start a successful business career that put a kitchen addition on our old Victorian and took us all to Bermuda two times for starters. It turned out, not only was she good at joining the old boy network seamlessly, but she liked it. A lot. Years pass, she moves them hither and yon for new business opportunities, finally settling and retiring in Maine in their seventies. Roger never begrudges her the role she has taken on, but sometimes I hear her wish for a break in the decision making. Wouldn't it be nice to have him choose the restaurant? Oh well...
Three years ago when OJ was 83, Roger died at 84 from a lung disorder that snuck up on us all. He was sweet and docile in the end, and we miss him very much. OJ was, and is, still so vital, but her resources were limited to the Army Pension, so she moved near us in suburban RI to be close to the youngest grandkids. We saw her often, but much of her time was spent reading in her wingback chair alone in her apartment. OJ loves to be around youth and vitality, but her building was seniors only. So, being the sensitive and meddling daughter I am, I suggested she join the website: www.seniorpeoplemeet.com and set up a page. She was game, but not too savvy on the 'how-to's', so I happily obliged. It doesn't hurt that my mom is one of the most youthful 86-year-olds I've ever seen. I deeply hope that I carry those genes! I posted a photo of her sitting with my then 6-year-old daughter, Olivia (named for OJ which stands for Olive Jean, but Mom never liked the Olive, so Olivia was chosen instead) and we browsed through the five gentlemen listed in Little Rhody. The only one Mom liked was a white-haired man who I thought resembled an older Spencer Tracy.
