Ve Had a Gut Life

Wifey's parents' friend Genia died, and Wifey and I paid a shiva call to her family last night. Actually, my father in law once corrected me: their fellow Holocaust Survivors weren't "friends;" they were "card players." I don't think my father in law ever, at least other than his brothers, had a friend... Genia had Alzheimer's Disease for awhile, and finally passed in her condo "by the vater" in Century Village. She is survived by 4 daughters, the youngest of whom, Mona, hosted the shiva. It was a trip back in time for Wifey. A fellow named Mermelstein remembered her from the 70s -- he was one of the "card players." There were a lot of Moms there from our Ds days at the JCC, including D2's favorite pre school teacher Jeri, whom D2 used to call "Jewwy" in her adorable toddler way. We caught up with folks we hadn't seen in awhile, including Cantor Lisa, whose daughter is an old friend of the Ds. Lisa led the service, and sang in her beautiful voice. Her husband Jimmy is one of those guys I wish I spent more time with -- with a very dry and sharp sense of humor. It occurred to us that Mona's daughter Jessica, Lisa's daughter Andrea, and D1 all live in the same Brickell highrise. And D1's roommie Alyssa is one of their old group, too. So I suggested we have a daughter/parent night out at Lucky Clover, the Irish pub at the base of their building. Mona, Lisa, and Jimmy agreed, and I have put D1 to the task of organizing it. Lisa read a poem about the strange and wonderful relationship between mothers and daughters -- how the mother goes from being the giver to the one in need late in life. I asked for a copy of it -- as did several others in the audience. Ruben, the widower, then spoke. He talked about how he came to Miami in 1949, after the concentration camps, and had nothing, and how lucky he was to build a successful business with his beloved. He shared tales of Genia's nature -- of how she took in folks for Passover, and even as boarders. Ruben was tearless, and said, about his wife "Ve had a gut life." His daughers started to ball, but he asked them instead to smile, remembering all Genia had meant to them. The take away lesson, as Ruben reminded, is to enjoy life -- to put off nothing. To that end, D1 is getting on AA flight 56 tonight, headed to London and then Manchester, to spend a week with her British friends. She's using some of the credit from Wify and my aborted Paris 25th anniversary trip. D2 is winding down her internship. Tomorrow is her final day, and she texted that they're having a farewell lunch for her and her fellow intern, a young man from China. D2 heads back to UF and her junior year one week from today. Rubin's right -- it is a good life.