Mom turns 91!

On the eve of Mom's 91st birthday, we were hanging out at my parents house, like we do every Sunday. I had been wanting to interview my grandmother for a while now, but never found the time do it. I thought that day would be perfect. I found an interview app and got it all ready, along with my questions. We sat down together and she talked for a good 40 min. And then. The damn app did not save my interview. 

But just because I don't have the interview to prove it, I hope I will always remember sitting there on the couch with her listening to her tell her stories. 

She talked about how her dad was so influential in  her life. He was blind. She had no idea how be became blind, and she really wished that she knew. That did not hold him back and he could do anything. He would fix his children's shoes when they were worn out and replace the soles. She told me a story about how one time he fixed a clock that was broken that hung on the wall in their house. He was able to wire the lights in the house to turn on and off on their own for Shabbat. 

In the mornings when he would come and wake her up, he would gently feel her face, so sweetly to feel what she looked like. When I asked her who was someone who really influenced her life, she said her father. 

She talked about her marriage, and how awful it was. How it was such a dark time in her life. I was hoping to get a lot of stories about being born in Tunis, and what happened there before moving to Israel. She briefly told a story about trying to get the right papers to come to the United States by her mom rolling them up in a tin of cookies she sent her. It was not the best day for an interview with her, she was not so clear this evening. So I hope to try again soon.

The next evening we all gathered again at my parents house to celebrate her turning 91. The day before she kept talking about how when she was young,  she would make a tower of cream puffs and what a wonderful memory that was for her. So Ethan, made it his mission to make that happen for her. If only I could have gotten her reaction on camera, it was perfect and she loved it.