Mom passed away on March 17th after a well lived life of 93 years, 7 months. The following is my “Reflection” that was read my my cousin Tom at the funeral last week. I thank Tom for reading this because I never would have been able to do it that day. It will be a huge transition for me to no longer have Mom here. I would like to think that we both will transition in style.

Mom…she had a lightness in her spirit. Her light shone from within. She was always positive, she was always supportive. She was fun to be with and was always excited to see us. Even as the dementia progressed, she never “lost” us. She always knew us and was thrilled to see us. She loved our daily cups of tea or coffee together. When we took our afternoon walks with her she would stop to say hi to everyone we passed. She was always complimenting someone on how they looked and asking how they were. Everyone would tell her how lucky she was to have her family with her. To her, we were the light in her life. For us, it was always her.

She championed all of our causes and never let us down. For her, the family was everything. Dad was the love of her life but he had to share her love with us which was not a problem because she had plenty to give.  Her parents, her sister Kay and her brothers Tom and Donald also meant the world to her.  Mom came from very poor beginnings but her love for family and her faith in God made her rich. That richness and her positive attitude, always a positive attitude, permeated her life and led her to the wonderful life with Dad that she so deserved. There was no love missing in our house. You could always feel it surround you and support you. She was generous, kind and loving.

If we are half the person that Mom was, we can consider our lives a success.

I am certain that on St Patrick’s day she and Aunt Kay were step dancing once again, and that Dad was watching and when they finished their dance he requested a cha-cha for them.

I saw a poem by Irene Conner that was perfect for us now.

Although you cannot hear her voice                                                                                                 Or see her smile no more,                                                                                                                   Your mother walks beside you still                                                                                                   Just as she did before.                                                                                                                           She listens to your stories and                                                                                                           She wipes away your tears,                                                                                                                 She wraps her arms around you                                                                                                         And she understands your fears.                                                                                                       It’s just she isn’t visible                                                                                                                         To see with human eye,                                                                                                                         But talk to her in silence and                                                                                                               Her spirit will reply.                                                                                                                             You’ll feel the love she has for you                                                                                                     You’ll hear her in your heart,                                                                                                             She’s left her human body,                                                                                                                   But your souls will never part.

Mom will be missed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new season is upon us. Let’s look at pants for spring-summer ’18, but first, here is a short tutorial on this category.  In the spring and summer the selection for pants is vast. Here are the lengths that one encounters for the warmer weather seasons.

Working from the ground up we’ll start with a full length pant. Inseam is between 28″ to 31″ depending on if the length is considered  petite, regular or tall. Next is an Ankle length which is self explanatory.  This length has become popular over the last couple of years.  Next is the Crop Pant which has a 23″ inseam. Crop pants are followed by Capri Pants with a 20″ inseam. Sharing in this length are pants that were popular in the 50’s and 60’s- Pedal Pushers AKA Clam Diggers. The difference here is that the Capri widens through the thigh to the leg opening and the pedal pusher fits close to the leg. Next is the Gaucho which has a 21″ inseam and is wide through the thigh and has a more generous cut. Culottes have an 18″ inseam and have a semi fitted wide leg. This is followed by shorts: Bermuda (13″ inseam), Walking Short (slightly shorter than Bermudas),  City Short (11″ inseam and a more tailored cut), Skort which is a skirt over a short, usually knee length for the skirted portion, and if you can carry it off, short shorts (these days usually in the form of cut off, cut up denim).

I think we can say that there is a length for every occasion and every body type!

This year there is a great selection of wide leg pants. The Palazzo pant was originally a trouser cut with the wide leg flaring from the knee. They were worn by trend setters in the 20’s such as Coco Chanel, then  Katherine Hepburn in the 30’s. Then in the 60’s they took off again. In the 80’s the Palazzo was part of the power suit. Variations on the wide leg pant are also “bell bottoms” and “flared leg”. This year you will see a cross section of fabrics for the Palazzo pants.  There are also long cropped gauchos. There are jogger pants elasticized at the hem. There are cargo pocket pants. A few great looking styles I have seen have either a side slit, a front slit, or a back slit. The slits are at varying heights on the wide leg pants.

There are lots of printed pants out this season too. There are all over prints as well as placement prints or embroidery.

Going to be a great season for pants. Shoe accessorizing is a topic for another day.