I knew his life before anyone else. Almost from the first minute, you know? Those who argue about when life actually begins, should ask a mother who has life inside of her, because we know, almost from the very first minute. I knew.
Those months, counted in threes, are a most special time, you know.
Before it was evident to anyone else, I would find myself placing my hand on my flat stomach and I could feel the warmth of him.
Before it was evident to anyone else, I felt his life, quiet fluttering butterfly feelings.
When it became evident to the rest, only I could feel his heaviness, one arm under, one on top, soothing him as he turned and kicked.
He came quietly into the world. Not in the middle of the night, but at a most considerate 2:00 p.m. time of the day and my arms were his first cradle.
The memories of the time of only he and me are vividly clear, while at the same time gently calming.
Then the memories of the days after he wriggled out of my arms and climbed down from my lap are fleeting. They seem to be hidden from me, only coaxed out by old photos and videos or by hearing stories from others. I suppose the passing of time and the stuff of life have cluttered up those spaces in my mind.
I knew him though, I knew him so well. Because he and I we had a bond, you see, as only a mother and son can.
Today, as I recall that day, that December fifth day of only one short year ago, I am overwhelmed with painful and sad memories but they are painful only because they are of that day.
This poignant passage from "
The Testament of Mary" reveal my feelings so well, on this December day, this fifth day:
“He lifted his head for a
moment and his eyes caught mine.” He was the boy I had given birth to and he
was more defenseless now than he had been then. And in those days after he was
born, when I held him and watched him, my thoughts included the thought that I
would have someone now to watch over me when I was dying…I would have cried out
as I cried out that day and the cry would have come from a part of me that is
the core of me. The rest of me is merely flesh and blood and bone.”
Yes, the core of me is where he lives and I will never say good-bye.
I wrote the following piece once year ago. This is my Joey.
Who was this mysterious man who was known to us as Joseph, Joe, Joey, Bro, Uncle Joe, or Hon?
From the time he was a little boy, I figured out how to "read" Joe. I learned what each subtle body movement meant. His facial expressions were actually quite loud. Sometimes his eyes alone would tell a whole story.
His teachers would say to me,
"Joseph is a good student, but he is so quiet."
As he got older and moved on to adulthood, I lost touch with little things about Joe. What music he liked, what clothes he chose to wear, what songs he liked to play on his guitar, where he was on the weekend or who he spent his evenings with.
I never lost touch, though, with the silent communication we shared. His eyes, his smile, or a little shrug of his shoulders, each meant something particularly special to me.
Because he was so quiet, very often Joe would get teased :
"Keep it down, Joe, you're talking so much that none of us can get a word in edgewise."
Joe would turn red, but he would always smile.
It seemed as though some people would be uncomfortable around him. "He doesn't talk much", they would say.
Many of the people in his life knew only small bits and tiny pieces of him.
He is so quiet they would say.
What is he thinking? How does he feel?
He is so quiet.
Oh yes, we all knew that Joe was a Mets fan. I know that when everyone in the stands was yelling "Lets Go Mets, Lets Go Mets," Joe was quietly yelling it too.
His laugh may have been quiet, but his sense of humor was obvious. I'm sure if you listened closely you would know that inside he was laughing loudly at a silly Conan skit.
What was there about "Unca" Joe that Bella, Kenny, Ryan and Tyler could hear that perhaps others couldn't? I'm sure they never said, "but he is so quiet."
I suppose there may have been some little specific things that I didn't know about Joe.
But when I reflect on my son I understand that I knew the most important things about him.
I knew what a gentle person he was. I understood his off kilter sense of humor. I knew that he loved little children and puppies and that they loved him.
I knew that he would always go back for seconds when I served my "famous" lasagna.
I knew that Domani was the light of his life.
I knew that he was a good father.
I knew that it was meant to be for he and Anne to find each other again.
I knew that he loved his wife.
I knew that he was strong and that his strength ran deep.
During the last weeks of his life I knew that there were times when he must have been very frightened; but he never gave up the fight.
I knew that he would never willingly leave his family.
Just few days ago he smiled and said to me "we still have time."
He knew I loved him.
The last time he "spoke" to me he mouthed the words "I love you."
Quiet people are sometimes misunderstood.
Take the time to get to know a quiet person.
After all you might be lucky enough to discover the treasures of their mind, heart and soul, just like my strong, lovable, wonderful "quiet" Joe.
