ALL ABOUT OLIVA

If there is one thing I regret about my TV life, it is that I have never been able to work in the same TV market as where my Grandma, Oliva (you can call her Lee), lives. PLEASE don't get me wrong -- I love working and living in the DC area and don't have plans to move. BUT it would be nice if my Grandma could flick on the tube in the morning and hear her granddaughter tell her about the day's weather ahead. I don't get to see my Grandma enough. I miss her. I love her.

I have been slowly scanning pictures of Lee into my computer. How neat is this? She and her girlfriends used to take summer trips up to Lake Erie. They would pay one of their brothers to drive them from Pittsburgh and $7 would get them lodging for the week! Like me and my friends, they did goofy poses...in crazy socks! Times have changed...last year, my girlfriends and I flew down to South Beach from different corners of our country. And, while $7 barely bought me a tonic from our beach side cabana, we did lots of the same things that Lee and her girlfriends did -- we all shared in the cost of lodging, we all left our boyfriends behind for a few days, and we all enjoyed fun in the sun and lots of shopping!

I treasure my time with Lee. Over the weekend I sat down on her bed and interviewed her. You can click on the arrow below and play it too.

Lee met my Grandpa, Robert, during the Great Pittsburgh Flood of 1936. Not in a hurry to give up working quite yet, she challenged a law in place that required married women not to work. You go Grandma! Here is a picture of my grandparents. They shared a marriage that lasted over 60 years. They moved from Pittsburgh to northern NJ and started a family. My parents, too, have been married for over 40 years. So, as I look to build a future with Ben, I have wonderful role models blazing a trail ahead of me. I couldn't let this blog post without one GROOVY picture. It is of my parents from back in the 70s. I think my Dad gave up the comb over shortly after this...

By the way, if you are ever shopping at the Bergen Town Center, in Paramus NJ, be sure to pop into the Carmelite Chapel there. Ask for Lee. She's been a volunteer there for as long as I can remember. I spent many a weekend tagging along with her, arranging items in the shop and getting statues blessed by the priest. I'm sure she'd love to meet you.

I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

HELLO TO FATHER EUGENE, TOO!
AND HELLO TO GERT, MARY, AND ALL THE OTHER NICE LADIES I HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT!!