Though I may not have put pen to paper in some time, this is never far from my thoughts. I have been filling my time with reading in preparation of another entry. Last week, I also finished a project I have been working on since January, a Powerpoint presentation taken from interviews, along with photographs, of Westbrook immigrant families from the late 1800’s. The historical society has an exceptional collection. It is not uncommon for most historical societies to have information on the earliest settlers, usually Anglo Saxon. I happened to be thinking of what was missing from the collection, and it was the stories of some of the later inhabitants who came to work in the mills and along the river. An idea was born and so far we have been lucky to get some participants contributing their family stories. It has been a real pleasure to put the program together. Next year will be the fourth year of the Immigrant Program.
                     I have one other project I need to finish very soon and that is the collection of interviews from people who witnessed the Redbank Plane Crash. I have three interviews left. Upon completion, I will present it to the SP Historical Society. I have a few more projects which I have been working on for a few years which can wait. 
                     Two weekends ago it was Mother’s Day. My own mother knowing we all have homes full of things, decided she would remember her own mother on Mother’s Day and see to it that my two sisters and I both received an item that belonged to our grandmother. I received some old pieces of pottery, a teapot with an inscription, ‘‘From Tuam”, and a matching sugar bowl and teacup with an inscription, “From Ireland”. My great grandmother brought them back from Ireland in 1932 when she visited her homeland after 40 years of being in the United States. It was a meaningful gift and they hold a special place in my china closet. We all miss our grandmother. 
                     It is peculiar how time marches on and some of us seem to be in the fast forward mode. My sons were teasing me the other day and made mention that I am never “there”. They meant I was always somewhere off in thought, even when I was in the room with them. I know there is some truth to this. I wish I could slow down to be more in the here and present. I am not really sure how I can do that, but it sure would be relaxing to not be so busy brained. Enjoy your day!