cc de leo

Growing up in my family was always a little confusing when it came to names. Both my parents had two names. Family called my father Tommy, but he was known to his friends and co-workers as Cliff. My mother’s family called her Betty, but at work she was always Joyce. Turns out she did not know her name was Joyce until she graduated from high school, and discovered her full legal name was actually Joyce…

Ah, Grandma Martha. She was the epitome of what a grandmother should be. She was very down to earth, loving and fun. She was the type of person who was always helping other people. She was non-judgemental, would keep your secrets to her grave. Perhaps part of that came from her being left to raise 4 children on her own. My grandfather, again someone I never met, did the proverbial disappearing act while going to…

My two grandmothers were on the opposite sides of the spectrum as far as grandmothers go. Elizabeth was my maternal grandmother. The impressions I carry of Grandmother Elizabeth are of a distant, self-absorbed haughty woman. Her head had a slight jiggle to it, much like Katherine Hepburn in her old age. I always felt like it was a sign of her judging life, and nothing ever met her approval. We didn’t see her that often,…

Everyone is affected differently by Fibromyalgia. When I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia I also had carpal tunnel in both hands. Surgery helped relieve the burning sensation in my hands, but my hands remain very weak and are often my main source of pain and discomfort. Other symptoms come and go. A pain here, a pain there, but I always know it will disappear at some point. The hands? A constant, you just learn to…