Friday, January 7, 2011

JOAN

Joan was Joe's godmother.  She was Brooklyn-raised and in her adulthood became a nun and devoted herself to the Catholic church.  After a heartbreaking good-bye from her religious calling she moved back to Brooklyn to care for her ill mother.  Her final days were spent in the place she had started and she loved that. 

She was an amazing person with a vibrant spirit, immaculate soul, and the most unique slapstick Irish humor.  She calmed your soul when she talked to you.  And she put your mind at ease when she looked at you.  Devastatingly, she passed away years ago but still holds a stronghold in our daily thoughts and lives.  Joan was, in her entirety, the most pure soul I've ever met.  Think Mary Poppins but way cooler.  And words are not enough to tell the story.

I had the privilege of having many phone conversations with Joan during the first few years of Joe & I's relationship.  I even got to meet her in person one time on a weekend trip to New York.  Joe was lucky enough to have this woman in his life from the very start.  She loved Joe and showed him every chance she got.
Joe has many great stories about Joan that he loves to tell.  There's one where she travels from New York City to Jacksonville, NC (where he was stationed in the military) with a cake on her lap the entire way to help him celebrate his most recent birthday.  Another one ... Joan, at the ripe old age of 73, gets certified to scuba dive just so she can go with Joe on a dive in the Bahamas.  But I think Joe's favorite story is the time when Joan took him into an Irish pub and ordered him a Guinness from the bar ... and he was only 16.  Joe's first beer in a bar all thanks to Joan.

This past Wednesday was Joan's birthday and a perfect time to celebrate this amazing woman's life.  Shepard's pie, a classic Irish dish, was on the menu.  And to wash it down, a Guinness of course.

In honor and in memory of Teta Joan.

2 comments:

Faye said...

what a lovely post...

Perry Ann Adams said...

that was oh so sweet! :) What a wonderful way to celebrate what sounds like such an amazing lady! Slainte!