Grandma Abbie's 70th birthday (2000)

Happy 70th Birthday ABBIE!

Presented to Abbie Geertz

Octoberfest Party

October 20, 2000

Held at David and Deby's house

With Love from your family

Fahrts Austria trip (1980)

Fahrts in Austria, 

Just another post that's just a tad bit inappropriate   

Elsie Lou, Buffy, Abbie and Aunt Lou took a trip to Austria and Germany --  In Austria we went to the train station and there were signs aus fahrt and en fahrt for departures and arrivals. Aunt Lou said, "Better aus than en." OHHHH MYYYYY the laughs Mom got from that quote from Aunt Lou! Ridiculousness!!!!! 

Barefoot at the Zoo

Our family met at the Pittsburgh Zoo to celebrate Mother's Day together one year. Before we even got in the gate, Kerry's flip flop broke. She was upset and she wanted to go home. But instead I helped her out. I gave her my Nike sneakers. She threw the flip flops in the garbage can and we started hiking around the zoo. I hiked the entire zoo in my brand new, ultra-thin socks. We enjoyed all the animals and many animals were becoming mothers. The baby gorilla clung to his mom and the baby tigers were growing. Of course my feet hurt from the tiny stones and the hard pavement along the path, but I felt good sacrificing my comfort for my daughter. It was Mother's Day and I was just being a mom like any other day. My socks were ruined  and my feet were sore, but I was happy celebrating all we moms do for our children. Happy Mother's Day!

schtuffle

"If you do duncy, stupid things, you are a schtuffle." Mom has been using this word for years, but she's never seen it written, only said. So we don't know how to spell it. She made a lot of guschlups (a lot of foods thrown together in a pot or bowl), but we don't know how to spell that word either. If things are super annoying and just CRAP, we say that it's a "guschiss" (guh SHISS). We don't know how to spell that either, which, in itself, is a guschiss.

As my granddaughter, Mariah, turns three years old this week, I am reminded about the day of her birth and how I was awakened to something I rarely see. A policeman verbally harassed an African-American man. Police harassment and racism videos are all over the internet today more than they were three years ago when Mariah was born.
The phone woke me at 5:30 a.m. on August 12, 2013. Finally my daughter, Kerry, was in labor. I was elated, becoming a first time grandma, and I wondered what the baby would look like, how long the labor would last, how it would feel to hold a tiny baby in my arms again. 
My mother and I met the parents-to-be at the hospital. Security gave us a pass that allowed us through the locked ward and Kerry was allowed four visitors. This tiny unborn baby already had five grandparents and a great-grandma. Friends and relatives paraded in and out all day.
The doctor predicted Kerry wouldn't give birth until later in the night so we knew we it would be a long day. 
After about eight or 10 hours, my mother and I sat quietly in a waiting room across the hall from Kerry’s room. My mother, who uses a cumbersome walker, was 82 years old. It's not easy for her stand, get her balance, pick up all her overstuffed bags and walk, but none of that mattered. A uniformed policeman kicked us out of the ward and escorted us back to the main waiting room.  
Was my mother targeted for kidnapping? I pictured her grabbing a baby, tucking it under her arm and “racing” out the door with her walker. "Somebody stop that Granny!"
The image was amusing, except I was confused and angry. I mumbled something under my breath and told the policeman it would take my mother “30 minutes” to make the circle back to the main waiting room and then back to Kerry’s room after several of her endless visitors left. What was the point?
The policeman also kicked out an African-American man and we were escorted out side by side and I complained loudly to him. 
 I was fuming, but he remained calm. The policeman ignored my remarks, but yelled at the man. He was up in his face saying he could kick this man out of the hospital because this man said, “hell.”
The African-American man showed incredible strength and restraint that I admired. He kept telling the policeman, “Leave me alone.” The policeman verbally harassed this first-time father-to-be and it seemed like racism to me. The man kept saying he was going to be a father today and he didn’t want to ruin that. The man seemed to take this harassment in stride, but I was not used to it. It wasn't the first time he had been harassed.

I was the one being belligerent. That man didn't deserve to be disrespected and mistreated and I felt guilty and sad for him. I was sad for him and his precious unborn baby.

There are rules but the policeman showed no compassion for my mother. It was a long day for my mother and we weren’t in the labor room with Kerry. We were across the hall in a small, empty, waiting room. I felt like that policeman stole a little piece of our birthing experience and he poisoned it. And it didn’t fit. Our baby Mariah was entering our beautiful world.
I was reminded in the most poignant of ways that this world has kidnappings and racism and police harassment, and many other problems. Welcome to our wonderful and broken world, sweet Baby Mariah. I love you with all my heart. God help us all. Love, Mimi

P.S.  Security at Magee Women's Hospital is more strict after a baby was kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse several years ago. The baby was found safe a couple days later. But Magee Women's Hospital will never be the same.

Mom's father (Daddy) David William Mudie at our Monroeville house

The Christmas Tree by Bob Geertz

When I moved to Swissvale, it was late November. Kids were little, me n the ex were fighting, and that's putting it mildly. Kids loved my little new home n I went right at it to make it a safe n fun haven for kids. Then they showed up in tears, telling me how Mom got a tree but would not let them help decorate. I had no plans on getting a tree as my Christmas spirit was not shining, but this news bothered me. I had nothing for a tree as I had left everything with their Mom. They were so upset, I literally had to walk them a few blocks away n pick out a tree n drag it back to my tiny new apartment. Then we went across the street to Family Dollar and I got cheap lights n ornaments and I let them do all the decorating. That tree became the basis for one of those magical memories to be cherished in my heart forever more. They were so happy and proud that I made a rule, "no grownups are allowed to decorate." They spent hours on their tree, changing their minds n moving ornaments from one branch to another, fighting with each other over what ornaments look better, "The ones I put on, or the ones she put on?" They wanted the tree perfect for when Santa came. The whole month of December revolved around the tree. We played games by the tree, they fought over who sits closest to the tree to eat dinner and they constantly added or moved things around on the tree, even bringing Christmas artwork from school. And yupp, you guessed it, Santa, being the kind man he is, saw this effort put forth and graced (spoiled) them with a ton of presents under the tree Christmas morning!! And that was the start of a Christmas tradition of mine. I don't do trees anymore, my kids do. I drink coffee n put on music and make jokes while they do all the work. This is the first year my daughter is out of state and will not be flying in to do my tree. That sucks. I am, however, counting on Justin Huchok and his way cool girl Trisha Sterf to be doing my tree this year. I forget how. Coffee n tunes n dogs n Christmas spirit and laughter and no arguing over whose ornaments look better! Gotta make plans soon.