NINA EUOLOGY
Here is another family euology for Nina.
My sister and I were discussing writing this eulogy, and she said it would be impossible to distill our mom and our lifetime of memories with her into a few minutes, and she’s right. So instead, I’ll start with one of my earliest memories. It’s probably not appropriate for a chapel, but a lot of my mom wasn’t. Some of you might know that my mom loved boxing. When we were little and Auntie Mike still had the house on Granby Street, my mom would cart us kids over for pay per view fights, which as you might know usually go pretty late. So at 7 years old, I naturally fell asleep, which during a normal fight wouldn’t have mattered, but this particular fight happened to be the 1997 Tyson/Holyfield fight- The Bite Fight. Which is how, at 7 years old, one of my earliest memories is waking up to my mother screaming HE BIT HIS EAR OFF! HE BIT HIS EAR OFF! There might have been a bit more colorful language thrown in.
Every moment that followed was another chance for my mother to show me that trademark exuberance. Life with my mama was never boring. She was vibrant and loud and excited about every possible thing I could tell her about my life. She was proud beyond belief of her family, and she never missed any opportunity to tell us how much she loved us. Her favorite thing was having her whole family together, especially if she got to do it on the beach with a beer in hand. Never for one second did I doubt how deep the well of her love went. She didn’t bullshit. She was tough, and maybe not always fair, and she made me so mad sometimes in the way that only a mother can make a daughter, but God do I want another chance to be mad at her. Because for every time I was mad or we fought there were a hundred more that she made me feel so unconditionally loved and safe.
My mother has left quite a legacy, but the greatest thing she has given us is our incredibly strong family. Because of her, we have been able to, and will continue to, lean on each other and survive this together. She lives in each of us. In Clay, her humor. In Lauren, her emotional strength. In me, her compassion. In her girls, Adrianna and Nora, her joy. In Mike, her backbone. And in Larry, her soulmate, her heart will forever remain.
I don’t have an ending. I don’t have a way to sum this up, because as I said in the beginning, I can’t distill my mom’s life a few words. So instead I’ll read something from one of my mom’s favorite books to read us growing up. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.MAIN PAGE DAD AND MICHEL WEBSITE
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