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| Joy and her dashing young husband, Mike.....my mum and dad. (1952) |
Yesterday I received a phone call from one of my mother’s
friends. Irene and my mother knew each other when they were 15. Irene is now
80, and my mother, who would also be 80 now, died 30 years ago. I haven’t seen
or heard from Irene in well over 45 years.
We had a lovely chat.... about
her children, who I remember playing with as a child, and about what has
happened to her, and to me in the last 45 years ago and of course, we also
talked about my mother. The phone call lasted well over an hour, we had lots to
catch up on.
The conversation has led me to think about my mother’s friends, who were such an important part of my growing up. I remember them all being very beautiful, and I remember them being very important to my mum.
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| Doreen |
Doreen, who, we all thought looked like Elizabeth Taylor, was crowned Miss
Wembley sometime in the early 50s.
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| Irene |
Joan, who was my favourite, and my
Godmother,( we have always kept in contact) was similarly gorgeous, Irene
was very pretty, and my mother, who I think was just stunning, was famous for
her 21 inch waist. In fact, Irene even mentioned it in our phone conversation .
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| Joan on the left, Joy, my mother, on the right |
The 4 of them were teenagers together, they learned their
secretarial skills together, they got their first jobs together, they went to
dances, they experimented with alcohol together.... and sex I expect. They
“dated” dashing young men together, were
bridesmaids at each others’ weddings and then spent time together as young
mothers. Now, the 3 that are still
alive, are all 80 and all their dashing young husbands are dead.
What things they have seen....born in the early
1930s....childhood in the depression, and the war, teenagers in the immediate
post war world, and young mothers in the Cold War. These are times that our
children learn about in history lessons, and for Irene, Doreen and Joan, they
are times that seem just like yesterday. Irene and I will now keep in touch, and I'm going to see if I can find Doreen's phone number.
Such a beautiful, tender post, Janice. Your mother and her friends were all gorgeous and so very young in these photos. I love the fact that their lives developed alongside each other like this, giving them and you so many shared memories. How very sad that your mother's was cut short.
ReplyDeleteHello Perpetua, they were beautiful weren't they. Realising how fresh some of these old memories are for my mother's friends has just made me see them as the young women that they were...possibly assisted by not having any idea what my lovely mother would have been like as an old lady. I can still get cross that she's not here though. J.
DeleteThis is such a lovely and moving post. And how wonderful that Irene should have called you. Indeed, they were very beautiful and I can understand that remembering them all together must be rather bitter-sweet for you. What a treasure the pictures are and thank you so much for sharing them with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was really lovely to talk to the 80 year old Irene and only be able to picture the one I remember, who was 35 at the very most. Janice
DeleteDear Janice - what a lovely post, and how nice that you are sharing memories of your mother and her friends. I think that it is an important thing to do, something I too have done. Now you have written it down it is there for your children and grandchildren to see in the future. How often do we say if only I had asked Mum this or Granny that, after they are gone it is too late.
ReplyDeleteThey did look lovely girls with their whole life stretched out before them.
My mother also died young, but not as young as yours. I always felt she was cheated, not seeing her grandchildren grow up and start to make their way in life. In fact most of her grandchildren were born after she had died.
It was a milestone for me when I became older than her, it seemed for a time like a challenge to get past that barrier.
I really recognise what you say Rosemary. My mother never knew any of her grandchildren. It has been very important for me to tell my daughter all about her grandmother...and yes, I remember well, my 52nd birthday, which was the milestone my mother never reached. It was a difficult time. However, talking to one of her old friends was an entirely delightful experience. Janice.
DeleteThis was such a nice post to read......the ladies were all so beautiful and your Mom. Such nice memories. I too keep in touch with some of my Mom's old friends as she passed away 6 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThese friends of my Moms also got to know each other around 15 years old or so.During the war and in different countries without any relatives as they were taken away into another country for labour.....so through all these years they still live in yet another country after the war but they all stuck together as family.
Thanks for sharing this lovely post and glad you got a chance to talk to Irene.
Thanks Erica( Irene)... yes our parents generation exprieenced some tough tough times, although I think my parents probably had it easier than others. It's just important to me that those memories aren't lost as that generation dies, so I like to make sure my daughter understands about what they went through. Best wishes, Janice.
DeleteOh, Janice, what a tender and loving post this is and how many memories it stirs in me. I have a photo of my mom and what we kids referred to as "the club girls" sitting framed in the dining room. They all went out for a night on the town and were so young and beautiful. I actually have the next year's as well, but my mom looks a bit stunned in it. A cousin told me recently that she had the same picture and it was dated November, 1949. ha! That would have been a few weeks before my blessed birth! My mom was probably just thinking "I wish this baby would come". I love it.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that Irene called you and you had such a nice, long chat. Your photos are beautiful and your mom is gorgeous and I'm sue she would be just as beautiful today.
Thanks for your comments Penny. I do think it is good for us to remember that our mothers were lovely young women who existed, and had interesting, sometimes difficult and sometimes adventurous lives before we came along. I love the idea of "the girls club". I guess they probably weren't that much different from us.... or from our daughters. J
DeleteHello Janice, This is such a lovely way to keep memories alive which might otherwise have been lost for good. Only last month I got my brother (older than me by 16 years) to "fill me in" about my father, who died 54 years ago when I was 3. My mother didn't want to talk about the past, so I never knew anything about him. You've no idea how good it feels now to have some 'memories' for those times when you need them! Thank you for sharing yours!
ReplyDeleteHi C & E, thanks for your comments.... how amazing to hear about your father after all those years. I certainly think I want to understand a little of what made my ancestors tick, so I hope learning about your father helped.J.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post Janice, and they were all so beautiful. You must be really pleased to have made contact again with your mother's friend, and it's great that you will keep in touch..I'm sure she is thrilled too.
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely to talk with Irene. There is something so special about talking with people you share memories with....especially when we find we remember what happened years ago so much more clearly than what we did 5 minutes ago ! Hope you have a good rest of the weekend Ayak. J.
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