quinta-feira, 7 de abril de 2011

Meet Fernanda :)


Let me tell you about this lady I know, today. Her name is Fernanda and this is her balcony. If I ever met someone with a green thumb for flowers, it's her!  



The American connection :)

This lady is the Mother anyone would love to have. She's cared and nurtured her 2 children (and they're not children anymore, they're in their 40's) through good and bad times. As she cared for her own mother when she was old (she died almost 95!) with all her love. And as she cares for her grandchildren, just like they were her own children. She has three, two boys and one girl. She misses her son and 2 grandchildren terribly, because she can't see them as often as she wishes--they all live in the USA, you see. 






Fernanda is now retired, but always busy trying to find ways to help out, both her family and other people. Everytime she gets a chance she goes to the hospital with her husband or her daughter. Sometimes she doesn't have to go, because her son-in-law makes a point of being present at each and every treatment his wife goes to... but she's the lead "cheerleader", and wants to be present too. In good days, when there are no appointments or treatments, she offers to go shopping or to tidy up or do anything to help. Or even just pick up a little crochet. She picks up her grandson at the  train station when he comes home from school (poor thing, she says, he must be so tired from school and travelling all over Lisbon and it's so late!) But she doesn't remember she's tired too from running errands and helping out until she goes to bed--and then often times she cannot sleep because she's worried about her children, all of them.
Fernanda at the hospital parking lot

And when she's not caring for her children she's nurturing her husband, who's a wonderfull person too with a bad heart condition and has to go to dialysis 3 times a week, if not more. She's like a private firemen corporation because here firemen (off the fire season or not) have ambulances and carry ill people to their treatments at hospitals and clinics. 


Whenever she goes somewhere, Fernanda takes something tasty or some trinket to make us smile. And she's always got a smile, too, throughout good and bad times.


But her family knows how special she is. When she calls her almost 18 year old grandson on the phone he smiles and says "It's my Mom #2". And she smiles and melts inside, when she hears that...
Fernanda's balcony








So, when she saw my blog and ohhhhhhh and ahhhhhhh'd she shyly said "you could show off some of my flowers in your blog", of course I took some pictures (they are indeed beautuifull!) and here they are. 










She wanted me to post some pictures of a beautifull afghan she made for her mother many years ago (I wish I still had the one she made for me, when I was in college... but somehow it got lost when I returned to Portugal :( ). It was her made by her very own sweet hands, in the evenings when both of her children were off to college or in the US Navy and Gigi, her cat, was sitting on her lap keeping her company.





And now she's picked up and is continuing the boys's afghan I started some time ago--I think she missed crochet and needed me to give her a little push!









Mom and I, at her birthday last year (almost a year ago)
So here's to Fernanda, my Mom, the best Mother I could wish for. I love you, Mom!

12 comentários:

  1. Hi Teresa
    This is such a great post!! The picture of the two of you together is beautiful. I think all the activities and helping hands your mom gives is what keeps her looking so youthful. You know how people with a positive attitude and a good heart have a special glow and I see that both you and your mother have it.

    I want my front deck to look like your mother's balcony. I think I'll put some potted plants on it this year, if spring ever gets here!! We are still wearing our winter coats in Northern Indiana. Brother!!

    Have a wonderful day. Please tell your mother that there is an orphan in Indiana that would love to call her Mom #2!!
    xx, Carol

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  2. aww thats so sweet and im sure you are a good doughter as well as she is a mother ,takes one to know one

    love her flowers and that blanket is a treasure

    loads of love Valeria

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  3. What a sweet and beautiful post Teresa! It is a great story and the pictures are so lovely... You and your mom are both very lucky with one another.
    Love, Maaike

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  4. I just knew Fernanda was your mum from the start...Her balcony is just beautiful and her crochet work is lovely. I see where you get your creative ways from. Sounds like Fernanda is an earth bound angel. Posted your hooks yesterday, they should be with you in about a week x

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  5. Thank you, my dear friends. Mom is really a special person--as I often say to my son Paulo, if I had to pick someone to be my Mom or Son, I would not have chosen anybody else.
    I'm really lucky, with them and with my husband Manuel I feel I am certainly the luckiest person in the world. They just make everything worthwhile!
    xx

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  6. Thank you so much my dearest daughter Teresa, for everything you said. I love you so much as well as Zé, my son, and my "little" 3 grandchildren, Paulo, Mary and Henry. You are all my reason for living, as well as Carlos, my dear husband.
    I hope and pray I have health and time enough to help all of you for all my life.
    Love to all of you
    Fernanda

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  7. Teresa,
    This post gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. You are so lucky to have such a wonderful Mother. I think she is the example we should all strive to be like. Such a great attitude and desire to help others. Her flowers blossom just as beautifully as she blossoms.
    Thanks for sharing her with all of us.
    Meredith

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  8. what a beautiful post! you and your mother are two peas in a pod!
    Your mums flowers are jest beautiful and we can see where you get your talents from!
    Have a lovely weekend and thank you fro reminding us how precious our mums are!
    XXXXX

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  9. You're so lucky to still have her...and she's lucky too!! those flowers are just beautiful and they make me want to grow some of my own.
    Have a great Day Teresa...well, tomorrow...
    M

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  10. Bom Dia! lovin your blog! my parents in law are in Portugal right now (they have a holiday home near Obidos)In fact they may be in Lisbon today, returning home to us in sunny Peterborough.
    Big hugs to your lovely mum, she is a star.
    I've just started to crochet flowers (still learning) thanks for your inspiration.

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  11. Thank you all so much for your lovely comments--my Mom is in fact a wonderful person and I know how lucky I am :) In fact, Carol, my brother's friends from the US usually call her "Mamacita" because she acts like a mother to everyone she cares about--and they say they're Portuguese at heart, they love it here lol
    I hope your parents in law liked Portugal too, Smurfkate :)
    I'll be back later to share some goodies, gotta rush off to get the kids :)xx

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  12. Hi Teresa, thank you so much for the pop by to my blog. I really did enjoy reading all qbout your mum and her life... She has a huge heart which she shares with everyone, and the face of an angel. Your mum is a true heroine and I am so pleased that you shared her with us.

    Her green fingers are a blessing, my mum doesn't have green fingers, but she does have the hookers hand and like your mum has created some really wonderful work.

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It's always great to read your comments! :) Thank you!

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