Dear Jessica Brennan,
I think I have talked about her before, but recently Dad took his headphones off long enough to perform in Dayton, Ohio and it made me think of an old friend.
When I was a young girl I used to read all the things other kids read – Judy Blume, C. S. Lewis and Carolyn Keene, but I also loved to read books by Dayton’s own Erma Bombeck.
I’m fairly certain that teenage girls weren’t really the target-market she had in mind when she wrote things like Aunt Erma’s Cope Book, but I loved her anyway. In those pages of comedic insight, Erma felt like a friend to me.
Her words always made sense:
- Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died
- Never have more children than you have car windows
- My second favourite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
Erma believed in humour as a tool for healing. Her words would make you smile, but also would leave you with something to think about:
- In two decades I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.
- Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they’re not trying to keep up with you.
- Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?
She was funny and smart and socially conscious, working through her career for equal rights. She understood things and communicated them in a way that people would hear:
- It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else
- Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere
- Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely
Erma Bombeck died from complications of a kidney transplant. When she knew she was sick she left us with words that many of us have read before, but I think they’re worth reading again.
From, If I Had My Life to Live Over, By Erma Bombeck:
If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”
There would have been more “I love you’s”.. More “I’m sorrys” …
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.
I miss Erma,
Love Mum xo
