John Wayne and a Dominican nun
I like to think John Wayne removed his big white cowboy hat, tipped it at her, and said in his dreamy voice, “Please to meet you, ma’am!” She would have fluttered her eyelashes at him the way she did each time she kissed the TV screen as he puckered up to kiss the leading lady (Maureen O’Hara) in his movies. Mom, my sisters and I collapsed in giggles. Up in heaven, Duke (John Wayne’s nickname) may have been confused meeting Sister Mike, not knowing the difference between a Dominican nun, and thought she was an angel. She was our angel. Sister Mike’s official name was Sister Michael Mary Dwyer (O’Dwyer in Ireland), OP (Order of Preachers), a Roman Catholic nun, a Sinsinawa Dominican. There was nothing pious or stern and intimidating about her. Sunshine and happiness oozed out of her and not just because I was a kid, adults adored her, too. She lit up a room with her sunny disposition and her kindness and love toward everyone in the room. My mother was about ten years younger than Sister Mike. When my mother was a child, Mom asked Sister Mike what her birthdate was. Sister Mike told Mom that her birthday was December 8 (her birthday was actually December 7) – December 8 in the Catholic Church is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – and Sister Mike told Mom that she was another Immaculate Conception! See what I mean about the mischief within Sister Mike? I even have a letter Mom wrote to her mother asking if it was true! It wasn’t that either was irreverent – they both truly believed God has a sense of humor. They were two peas in a pod when they were together. Laughter, silliness and plain old fun . . . an amazing thing when you’re a child and your mother and aunt shed their adult ways encouraging my sisters and me to have fun right along with them. The best way to describe how we anticipated Sister Mike’s visits to us is think of the delight of the children in the movie Mary Poppins. Pure magic! Sister Mike brought that magic and love into our lives. Mom and Sister Mike had a crush on John Wayne, the actor and we did, too. Popcorn, staying up past our bedtime and swooning over him when he swept the leading lady into his big handsome arms made our hearts beat faster. We never missed one of his movies. John Way arrived in heaven years after Sister Mike died, but I’m betting she finagled with the good Lord so she could meet him as soon as he passed through those pearly gates. It made Mom mad. She wanted them to meet him together, but Mom wasn’t in heaven yet when John Wayne died. Mom had just picked up her cross battling the same disease that sent her eldest sister, Sister Mike, to heaven at the young age of forty-five years old. This year – 2016 – marks the 50th year since Sister Mike died. Today would have been Sister Mike’s 96th birthday. Her funeral was what I call my first PKD (polycystic kidney disease – a hereditary disease) funeral. I wasn’t born yet when my grandmother died of PKD. We’ve had nine funerals from PKD in our family including Mom’s. My sisters and three of my cousins, (one a Catholic priest) battle the disease now. Sometimes the sorrow is unbearable. One Christmas visit when I was quite young, Sister Mike brought us a Nativity set, made of plastic. Mom was beside herself with joy...
Read MoreBROKEN WRISTS, BROKEN HEARTS, BUT HAPPY BUBBLES!
Broken Wrists, Broken Hearts, but Happy Bubbles! I broke my wrist just after my book was published! My blogging (and typing) fell apart! A neon pink cast encases my arm. It starts at the bottom of my fingers; my thumb is wrapped in the “hitching a ride” gesture, and the rest of the cast travels up to my elbow. It makes it uncomfortable to type! But, now that it’s been ten weeks; the cast is due to come off very soon, depending on how the bone has healed. Fingers crossed! Time for me to grin and bear it because I want to blog about the upcoming Transplant Games! The 2010 National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games will be from July 30, 2010 to August 4, 2010 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. Bittersweet memories for me and my family – Madison, Wisconsin is where Sister Mike died in June 1966 – all those years ago when Mom was by her side and all our hearts broke with grief. Radiant light – a term that is exactly what Sister Mike was in our life. She was only forty-five years old when she died; we loved her fiercely. Her nickname for Mom was Bubbles. What kid wouldn’t love someone who called their mother, Bubbles? Our family will be in full force at the Games in Madison. Dad and Janice are in the Dance Competition and will be competing on Friday evening. JoAnn and Janice will be swimming again; badminton is another event where they will compete. Most of us are going to run the 5K and this year there are a few events for the Living Donor to enter. I chose the only one I figured I could muddle through – 100m run – my run is more of a shuffle, though! We hope to meet many of you who have written about the book. We are dedicating our participation in each event to Sister Mike. Look for us . . . we will be the ones waving wands and blowing . . ....
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