Author Archive: PaulKenny

It’s A Gift

My mother celebrated her 99th birthday on August 10th and she continues to amaze. We had lunch with her recently along with my daughter Jenn and her children. (See the featured picture).  At 99 she still has an amazing ability to engage with anyone, but especially with children. She soon will have 12 great grandchildren and the older ones in particular love their time with mom-mom. She somehow makes each of them feel like they are her favorite. It’s a gift.

A friend of mine once said about mom: “She is both interested and interesting”. My dad used to refer to her as the “Brains of the Operation”. (Click on this link to read the story about the night I realized why)  Unlike most of us, mom is a good listener. Last week, after our lunch with the grandchildren, I asked her how she does it. Mom explained that throughout her life she has been around people who like to talk. She said that she has always enjoyed listening, because that is how she learns. She followed that up with: “Did you know that your cousin Maureen’s husband Bob McGee, had a master’s degree in speech therapy. I know a few things about Bob, but that I didn’t know.  My cousin passed away last year and Bob still calls mom. He is one of the many, caught in her spell. At 99 she is still learning. It’s a gift.

Mom at lunch with my son Brian and his family 

For the readers of this blog you might remember the piece we did on Mom Mom’s potato salad. (Click on the link for the full story) It is one of her specialties that is a family favorite. A few years ago I did a FaceBook live piece with her. She was great. Her years in front of a classroom made her particularly good in front of the camera. After we finished the live take and turned the camera off, she took one last taste of her masterpiece potato salad and exclaimed: “Boy that’s good”. Mom can cook and communicate.  It’s a gift.

The last year hasn’t been easy for mom, as it hasn’t been for many. Mom continues to talk about the “Little Miracles”   in her life. (Click on the link for the full story) She talks about how she likes something sweet with her toast in the morning and the homemade jam that my cousin Virginia from Maui made and how it magically appeared. And how her iPhone continues to automatically display pictures of her great grandchildren. She doesn’t know how it works, but she loves it. Through it all, she decides to focus on the positive. It’s a gift.

A favorite picture of Mom doing a reading at our daughter Jennifer and her husband Ethan’s wedding.

Mom started doing readings at weddings years ago. Our son Brian asked her to read something my father had written. Mom called me and said that might be difficult given that most of dad’s writings were commencement addresses and political speeches. I told her to pull a piece of something dad had written and just tell a story. From that she has developed an art that provides a memory for the special couple and all in attendance. An investment banker friend of my sister came up to her after a recent performance and asked her: Did you ever think of starting a business? We could call it: “Rent a Mom-Mom”. Again, it’s a gift

Happy birthday mom-mom. You are a gift!

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Dinner With Tuvi

Back in 1996 it was the year after my father had passed away and my mother spent month in Israel as part of an Elder Hostel. I was in Israel on business. We met up in Jerusalem and my friend Tuvi hosted us for dinner. That night in Jerusalem with Tuvi and his wife Mona, my mother was the center of attention and I came away with an understanding of why dad referred to her as the “Brains of the Operation”. She was just interested and interesting. Me I just sat back and watched. At the end of the evening Tuvi gave mom a recipe book and we have been making the hummus recipe from it for years

Tuvi is a friend of mine in Israel.. Tuvi and I have been friends since 1985. He is one of those people that brings amazing insight and wonderful humor to just about everything. His wife Mona is more than special. She is:

I talked to Tuvi a few months ago and asked how Mona was doing and he said: Ahh just google her, its easier.

(Tuvi and I discussing peace in the middle east or more likely the punch line of one Tuvi’s better jokes. Remember when people told jokes?)

I guess I have always known that my mother is smart. She has her Masters degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Columbia university in New York. In addition, she has the equivalent of 2 other masters degrees. As the evening went on and I watched mom with Tuvi and Mona, two very bright people, I saw mom in a different light. She was the center of attention. (To this day, Tuvi sends me messages asking how mom is doing). It was that night when I first understood that mom was clearly, The “Brains of the Operation”.