The Brief Joys of Summer
August 21, 2006

One of the brief joys of summer was spending an idle weekend in New Buffalo with my sister and her very pregnant daughter, Megan.  Steve stayed away- too much estrogen, he assumed…not enough Sox.  It was a gift. 

Megan is the youngest in her family.  She shares a birthday with Patrick, and is one year younger.  I can remember getting Jenny’s call from the hospital 24 years ago to announce the news. I was in the kitchen of my old house- I can close my eyes and recreate the details of the room, the view, and the giddy happiness of two sisters who would always have the good fortune of motherhood to concelebrate. But there was tension.  Jenny had only been married for six years, but her husband had given her a premonition that he was not as loyal as she. Imagine if you will…two seat belted toddlers, Jennifer 8 months pregnant with Megan, and my mom- riding shotgun down Woodward Avenue, after a motel sighting of “DAD”. The aforementioned dad then jumps in his car and intercepts the party of four (and 8/9ths)  at a Dairy Queen.  There he proffers public apologies over self-serve, and promises to never do it again.  This scene is indicative of the chaos that accompanied Jenny to the delivery room a month later.  At the time, Megan was the glue that re-pasted the family.  It did not hold, despite Jen’s best efforts. 

The birth of this third child jangled Jenny into action.  Her teaching certificate had gone dormant, so she got a job teaching pre-school and started taking evening classes to get her Master’s degree in education. Mom helped, serving as “grandma” in Jenny’s classes.   She would fill in as a babysitter when Jenny went to classes at night.  She gave Dave (husband) her evil eye, trying to shame him into sobriety and fidelity.  Mom was pretty successful with this form of behavior modification, but David was a tough subject.

 After he took his girlfriend to his high school reunion, Jenny decided that she needed to extricate her family from this dishonest life.  She could stay for the children, but what she really needed to do is move forward for the children. 

She was a strong and consistent mother.  She taught kindergarten in the neighborhood, and tutored in the summer to make ends meet.  Her kids rarely knew how sad and mad she was.  She managed to scrape together food and tuition money, and she deprived herself of any frills.  She raised three wonderful kids.  They still loved and missed their Dad, because Jenny was not the type to trash him.  She reconciled with her ex for five years, moved by his promises of AA and spiritual rebirth, but she would not remarry. They moved to a “fresh start” home, new, big and with a pool for the kids to hang out in.  Only one of these years was calm, and then David’s demons resurfaced.  On Thanksgiving eve, 8 years ago, Jenny showed me a little dollhouse that said “peace” to her.  She made an offer that day. On her first night in that house, she had the calm she sought for years.  She earned it.  She shared it with her baby girl, Megan, then 16. 

Megan was a comforting homebody, taking the residential downsizing in stride.  Like her mother, she has a gentle exterior, with a core of steel that she can call upon if need be.  Last August, she married a sturdy and gentle young man.  Her father was still thousands in arrears in child support, unpaid since her high school years.  Megan let him walk her down the aisle with her mother rather than cause a scene.  Peace is the goal.

This August, in New Buffalo, I received another call I will forever remember. The next generation is officially started. Mason Thomas was born Saturday evening. Megan and her son are healthy and happy. No tension was present.

Grandma Jenny and the 3 Great Aunts, on the other hand, are trying to figure out where the last 24 years have gone. All our proudest moments- the births of our children- have found new echoes. It makes us smile. And cry. And pray…. That this little baby will be surrounded by peace and love and honesty. Jenny taught, Megan learned. It is assured.