Thursday, May 27, 2010

One Book Complete and The Sequal Continues

Friday, May 21
After a service where Veronica's Irish prayer was read
along with Yuriko's lovely sentiment,
 we laid my mom to rest beside my dad
and next to my brothers, Butch and Chuck....
and then we proceeded to celebrate her life
with laughter, food,
stories, and more.
Here's a typical sight at an Irish funeral
(or maybe just at a Helme funeral:)...
a cooler full of "cold ones"
to offer up a toast...
We made our way over to the Mark Twain Diner
in Union to feast with the family and friends.
Here's my brother, Jimmy, making the
rounds of the tables.....
A table of cousins and Uncle...
A table of Grandkids and a little Great....
The books continue ~ Lucy and Hope
(Nana's two Great-Granddaughters)...
Jimmy assigned to some Lucy duty. 
They seemed to be getting along
quite well...
The Patriarch of the family,
my Uncle Leo, getting some love
from me and Donna (or visa-versa)...
From Union we jumped over to
Hoboken
(Rae, Mish & Hope, Robert & Christa)...
 
...since some of us in the crowd are
Cake Boss fans,
and we couldn't resist taking a detour...
 
And as we were sitting across the street from the bakery,
(and actually on a side street)
eating our cannoli....
The Cake Boss, himself, came strolling by
(someone up above was smiling down as
The Cake Boss is Hope's favorite show!)...
We strolled down the alley behind the bakery
where Michelle had a Marilyn Monroe moment,
much to the delight of one of the bakers...
We then hopped over to Courtney's apartment. 
Courtney is my cousin, Cheryl's daughter.
Cheryl and I were best buddies growing up, and it was
great for the two of us watching our children
get acquainted
(Cheryl's in the middle; I know you're mistaking
her for one of the kids!).....
This is the view at the end of
Courtney's street about a block away from her place
(OK, Courtney, I have an idea...let's swap places
for a week!!!).
Spectacular....
The next stop was
Liberty State Park...
...where my girls wanted to reminisce
about a visit years ago with their Nana and PopPop
(the Twin Towers were very much missed,
as are my mom and dad)...
I have to say it's official; the Empire State Building
is my all time favorite building.
I've been to the top only once as a child with my
brother, Chuck.  My mom and dad waited on the
sidewalk below (LOL)...
We were reluctant to leave, but there was
more on the agenda, as in a good
night's sleep.
To be continued, a recap of day two......

Sunday, May 16, 2010

1925~2010 A Life Remembered

"We spend our days asking ourselves
what is the meaning of life.
Your news today has caused me rather
to look at the meaning of death.
And I've come to the conclusion
that death is the fulfillment of life.
Chapter after chapter,
Jean's pages tell stories of joy,
laughter and challenging times...as it should be...
her childhood,
young romances,
friendships,
hopes both achieved and dashed;
her marriage,
her beloved children, her grandchildren and her great-granddaughters.
Now the book is complete...
the wonderous fulfillment of a wonderful life."
~message from Yuriko