All Around Pennsauken

By Jack Killion, Mayor of Pennsauken

Let me tell you a story about one pretty special lady.

She had nine kids of her own, but always took in more, especially when they didn’t have anywhere else to go. She had a lot of love for people. Sometimes that meant that she loved you enough to get tough on you, particularly if you knew better. And talk about an “open door” policy; her door was always open, especially on Sundays, where a bowl of spaghetti was waiting for all comers.

This lady knew about neighborhood and community. She also knew how to chase the really obnoxious neighbors away with a hairbrush. She didn’t judge, but stuck to her guns, even though she may not be right. And you always knew where you stood with her, sometimes because she came right out and told you. She was proud of her kids, prouder of her grandkids, and even more so about her great grandkids. And when her older son never made it back from war, she grieved like any mother would, with a broken heart that never healed the right way.

Her body failed her, but her mind was razor sharp. And at the age of 89, she still could make her kids take a step back in awe, even on her last days.

So when it was time for her to go home, most of her nine children and her 16 grandchildren were there to say goodbye, packed into a hospital room and spilling into the hallway. And on that night, the family lost an amazing woman and gained an angel.

In the days that followed, her family was amazed at the outpouring of love and support. From flowers and cards, to fruit baskets and phone calls, people from all over showed how much they loved that pretty special lady and that her lessons of love and acceptance had spread from her to her children and her children’s children. She truly touched a lot of people and her legacy carries on through her family.

We need to celebrate the special people in our lives, especially those who are getting on in years. Tell them that you love them. That you appreciate them. That they mean the world to you. Because as much as we’d like for it to be so, nobody lives forever. Change is the only thing that never quits, and the people that we love can be in your life one minute and a memory the next.

It’s times like these that make us think about our own mortality, but it also gives us an opportunity to focus on the joy and happiness that our loved ones were more than willing to share with us while they were still here. And that truly doesn’t go away.

And as for that special lady, I’ll never forget her. Miss you, Mom. Every day.