“Some, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.”
“Joy of Giving”
by John Greenleaf Whittier
I have to keep my ears open. The kids often drop hints about what they need for Christmas. Hubby was looking for one of his indoor jackets. “I like that one because it has tight ‘wristers.”’ They keep the wind from going up his arms if he takes something outside to the trash. That was a gift suggestion. We must look for another jacket with “wristers” for him.
***
Two weeks ago, my sister-in-law Valerie called me, in tears. Her older daughter Cheryl had passed away. I was stunned. I knew that Cheryl was younger than our kids. (She was just 47.) She was supposed to meet with her friend Sally. When she didn’t show up, Sally came to her apartment in Newburyport to see why. Cheryl didn’t answer the door. Sally had Cheryl’s key because she had taken care of her cat when Cheryl had recent knee surgery. Sally entered the apartment and called for Cheryl. She found her in bed, lifeless, with her cat “Py,” sleeping next to her. She immediately called the police. Thank goodness Sally had Val’s address and phone number in Florida and gave that info to the police. The police officially notified Val.
When Val called me, she explained that she was not well enough to fly to Boston. She asked that our daughter Sue take care of everything at Cheryl’s apartment. (Sue and Cheryl used to chat on Facebook.) She asked that Sue look for important mail and especially photos. Val was concerned about Cheryl’s cat, “Py” (I think Cheryl told Sue the cat’s name was actually “Py Wakkett.”) Val put a message on the internet, asking if any of Cheryl’s friends would like to take her cat. There was a “taker,” thank goodness. Cheryl’s pal Sally came on Saturday to take the cat to a friend. When “Py” heard Sally’s voice, he let out a “meow.” He recognized her voice from when she took care of him when Cheryl was in the hospital.]
Hubby and I took our car as we went north to Cheryl’s apartment . Sue, in her car, went to the local police station and got the key from the officer investigating her cousin’s death. We didn’t see the cat at all the first day. His food dishes and litter box were there but no cat. The second day at the apartment, our daughter Jeanne went to look under Cheryl’s bed to see if there were any shoes or slippers. The bed had drawers on both sides, plus the footboard of the bed went all the way to the floor. Jeanne looked through the top of the bed to see underneath and came face to face with the cat, who hissed at her. Jeanne made a hasty retreat from the bedroom. “I found the cat – under the bed,” said she. Before we went home that day, we left canned cat food, dry food, and water for the cat. He must have been starved because he hadn’t eaten for a couple of days. The following morning, the “wet” food was all gone; the dry food was partly gone; and the litter box had been used.
I must mention that traffic, once we passed Saugus, was light on Routes 1 and 95. Of course, we were driving at quiet times of the day. When we arrived in Newburyport, it was just a short distance to her apartment. As we drove there, my eyes widened as we passed a Market Basket. I could make quick visits to get something for dinner on the way home each afternoon. There was also a K Mart, Shaw’s, Wendy’s, Papa Gino’s, D’Angelo’s, and a McDonald’s, practically within walking distance.
While Jeanne cleaned the bathroom (beautifully), Sue tackled all the mail. She found Cheryl’s birth certificate and the title for her car. She took the latest bank letters and utility bills for Val. Sue tore up anything else. We laughed because most of Cheryl’s photos were of dogs, probably pets throughout her life. We found a couple of bags of summer clothes, which are going to Morgan Memorial. Cheryl had a beautiful cane from her knee surgery. Everyone said I should take that for Hubby and me in case we need it, probably sooner rather than later. One of Jeanne’s friends needed household goods because her son was just setting up his own apartment. This friend also sews, so she was thrilled to get the sewing machine. It was old but still working. I found the attachments for it in a closet.
Out in the kitchen, we saw that Cheryl liked to jazz up her food. We saw all kinds of spices. We kept anything that had not been opened and threw out all the open jars and bottles. She cooked a lot with oil. Hubby and I tackled the bottom part of the refrigerator. There was a beautifully cooked chicken but we figured it was too old. It went out in a trash bag, along with the spices and oils. I found a bottle of pickles and laughed. I think she got her love of pickles from her Dad (my late brother Jackie), and our side of her family. It kills me now that I can’t eat pickles or most green vegetables because I’m on Warfarin. Cheryl had a huge bag of rice, which we threw out, not knowing how old it was. There was a big butternut squash on the counter. She didn’t drink coffee; at least she didn’t have a Mr. Coffee or a Keurig machine. She had a huge slow cooker, which we left for Jeanne’s church people.
We brought trash bags with us and threw out her bed clothes and huge pillows. We found a great many Market Basket products in her apartment and quite a few of their plastic bags so she must have shopped often in that store. (The weekly ads, including Market Basket, came each Friday in her mailbox.) She was a good shopper! She loved being on her computer. Sue went into her last entry. She was viewing the American Heart Association’s page, which listed how a woman would know if she were having a heart attack. We assume that she died from a heart attack. If only she had called the police or EMTs, she might be alive today.
Cheryl’s church will be having a memorial service for her. The last time I saw her was at our 50th anniversary brunch at the Fox and Hound Restaurant in Quincy. She came in just as we were leaving. It was Sunday and she had been at church. Thank goodness, our son Paul still had his camera out. He took a photo of Cheryl and me inside the restaurant. It came out great. Daughter Sue cropped me out of the photo and left the great photo of Cheryl. Sue sent it to Val in Florida. It will be used at the service at her church in Amesbury and at the service that Val has arranged in Florida when her ashes will be interred with her father’s. Val told us that Cheryl’s church members want to have a small collation for our family members following the service. How kind of them. That shows how much they liked Cheryl. After Christmas, we are going to have a Mass said for Cheryl at our church.
I am sorry that I did not have a column in last week’s paper. We had so much to do. The ride back and forth to Newburyport was long (a total of 92 miles each day). Most days we tried to be back home in the city before 4 p.m. One day we were late. Hubby swears it took one hour to get through the O’Neill Tunnel. I pity the poor people who must travel through that tunnel each day.
My sister-in-law Val knows how sorry our family is because of Cheryl’s unexpected death. We also send our sympathy to her siblings: brother Chris, brother Brian and his wife Denise, and sister Kim. We also send our sympathy to her aunts Marlene and Meridyth and to her church members in Amesbury.
***
We were also sorry to hear of the death of Cecelia Coakley on Dec. 5. We had last seen Celia at the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Christopher’s two weeks ago. Her sister told Sr. Elizabeth that Celia was not feeling well that day. Celia was such a big part of St. Christopher’s Parish. She always led us singers with her beautiful voice. She loved the adults and children of St. Christopher’s, volunteering at the church for more than 40 years. The parish will sorely miss her help and devotion to the church. Led by Fr. George and including all the parishioners of St. Christopher’s, the sympathy of the entire parish is sent to her sisters, Ellen Coakley and Patricia Gird. She will be greatly missed.
***
I laughed at this bumper sticker: “I used to think that I was indecisive but now I’m not too sure.”
