Mother F.

Oct 19, 2009 | Filed Under: Candy's Column,Musings

The best part of our trip to the East Coast so far — besides my mom calling out my dad for claiming he watches the busty weather girls on the Spanish Channel because he “really thinks it helps him learn Spanish” — has been introducing Skylar to my family’s oldest generation. Watching Grandma Failor, a sprightly 88 years old, hold my daughter for the first time was all kinds of awesome. Talk about a new appreciation for the circle of life.

If Grandma looks surprised, well, it’s because she is: I’m pretty sure she thought I would NEVER produce a child. Probably because she once said to me, “You’re NEVER going to have a baby, are you? [PAUSE] Oh well. At least you have your cats.”

SURPRISE!

I may look like my dad’s side of the family, but I definitely inherited my firecracker gene from my mom’s side. As has Miss Skye, I suspect. I hope. Even at almost 90 years old, Grandma Failor takes care of her own home and walks with a bouncy strut that puts runway models to shame. We call her Mother F. — much to her chagrin — because she used to sign all of her cards to her children, “Love, Mother F.” One day her son-in-law asked, “You DO know what ‘Mother F.’ is slang for, don’t you?”

“Why, no, I don’t,” Grandma said, confused.

When my uncle filled her in, she was horrified — which made everyone else only erupt into laughter.

“Oh, you’re all bad!” she cried. The laughter swelled.

I’m so grateful Miss Skye got to hang out with Mother F.

5 Responses to “Mother F.”

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Mette says:

Grandmas are treasures!
October 19th, 2009 at 11:17 pm - Reply
Cowgirl in the Sand says:

Beautiful picture! And I think you look a lot like your Grandma.

In a similar familial vote of confidence: in Taiwan, a bride changes into several different party gowns during the wedding reception. When I was 30 (and still single), my auntie mailed me three gowns from Taiwan, saying, “I always wanted to buy these wedding gowns for you but I’m afraid I’m going to die before you get married, so I’m just sending them now”.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:21 am - Reply
Gina from Oregon says:

LOL@cowgirl in the Sand!! That’s terrible.

What a beautiful family portrait Candy. Mother F is just adorable.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:25 pm - Reply
Jenn F. says:

LOL @ Cowgirl! That is HILARIOUS!!!

Sweet picture and great story, Candy!
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:41 pm - Reply
Andrea says:

That picture is wonderful! We all love the Mother F. story also!!
October 26th, 2009 at 11:27 am - Reply