lessons i’ve learned from C.C.

Hi there. It’s been a while. Thanks for sticking with us. Joe and I have had a stressful couple of months. Between the house and our jobs it’s been hard to keep up with the blog. Also, on February 3rd, I lost my grandmother Celina. Her death was unexpected and shocking to my whole family, despite the fact that she was 83 years old. She was endearingly called C.C. by everyone. It’s been a sad but reflective time for Joe and I. Family has really been our top priority over the past couple of weeks. I thank my lucky stars every single day that I have such a wonderfully close and loving family.

I know it has nothing to do (directly) with renovating a house but I’d like to post a few lessons I’ve learned from C.C. She did some extraordinary things during her life (did I mention she had 8 children?) and I’ve learned so much from her. Hopefully, it’s valuable to you.

1. Be gracious: When someone pays you a compliment simply say thank you.

2. Enjoy life: 10:30 am is never too early for a glass of whiskey. My mom would probably not appreciate me writing this about C.C. She definitely did not abuse alcohol in anyway. She just loved the taste of whiskey (Canadian Club and water) and would enjoy a glass often. I spent a week with her - just the two of us - on the west coast of Ireland and we often had a glass of whiskey just after brunch.

3. Never stop learning: C.C. went back to college at the age of 76. She was always interested in new things and curious to know more. She told me once that she went to college when she was young to get her MRS (get it?), and that she did. But she returned later in life and took classes on all sorts of subjects primarily writing, art, and architecture.

4. Write: I’ve always admired both C.C. and Joe for writing prolifically. C.C. would fill composition journals with her thoughts almost constantly and Joe has kept journals for years. Also, she wrote letters religiously. C.C. had 22 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. I was amazed how many letters she wrote to all of us and how honest, candid, funny, and eloquent she was. She made each of us feel so incredibly special and loved.

5. Be thankful: C.C. had many great losses in her life; her parents died very young, my grandfather passed away in the prime of his life, she suffered several miscarriages. Despite all of that she had eight beautiful and healthy children and an enormous family who loved her deeply. She was thankful for everyday she had with us.

6. Keep moving: During the past four months before C.C. passed away she visited New Zealand to see my cousins Rich and Mary, she drove to Illinois to be with Joe and I for our IL reception, and she flew to St. Croix to be with my aunt JoJo, Uncle Rod, and my handsome cousins Tony and Nicky.

7. Be faithful: I’ll admit it that I’m not the most religious person out there but C.C. was incredibly faithful. During the last week of her life she woke up one morning and told everyone she was really tired. She said she spent the night building “a one-man boat with Jesus.” She said it was very fun, but that she was just tired from it all. I still think that story is amazing and I realize how important it is to have faith in something.

8. Finish what you start: This is both a nod to the lesson about writing as well as about finishing things you set out to do in life. C.C. was a writer as I said before but she had been writing a book and editing it over the past few years. It is largely autobiographical but there are some fictional elements to it. The wonderful thing is that she finished the book before she passed away. My family owns a bookbinding business in Pennsylvania and my dad and brother produced 60 copies of the book titled, Once Upon A Morning, in time for the funeral.

There are a million things I’ve learned from C.C. Today, I’m going to be thankful for all of the days I had with her.

Click here for a link to her obituary.

…and now back to the renovation. I’ll be posting picks of our temporary kitchen shortly and you’ll be thankful you don’t live here at house&fig.

Love,

Sarah

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