Dec
3
Dolores: Additional Memories
In the several months since Dolores’ passing, I have thought about her often. In no particular order, here are some of the new thoughts and memories I have of her that I left off my previous list.
She loved the book (and series): The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. She was looking forward to the release of the movie this Christmas.
She loved Baklava.
Her birthday was January 1 and when she was a little girl, thought everyone was celebrating her birthday.
Always loved to sleep and when she was little, her brothers and sister, convinced her she had slept through Christmas.
She loved soup (I do too) and we would often order it when we were out. She also made great soup.
I think of her every time I run as I put shoes on that she gave me for Christmas last year. She was very supportive of my running and came out to the Peachtree Road Race with me a couple of years ago (The only time I have run it).
She didn’t work out, but would walk the stairs at work sometimes sneaking out on the roof of the hospital.
She had three “official” twelve hour shifts at work each week as a nurse, but would always work at least one additional day.
She had the morning shift at work which began around 7 am each day, but would often arrive early so she could park in her favorite space. She was not happy when someone had already taken it…:-) Then, she would walk through the “Gerbil” tunnel (which spanned across the busy street) from the parking lot to the hospital.
Going to Waffle House on Saturday and/or Sunday morning and sharing breakfast with her. (I haven’t been since even though we used to go at least once a week).
Eating at our favorite restaurants together (Eclipse De Luna, China Cooks, Nuevo Laredo, Apres Diem (Haven’t been to any of them since).
She loved the Godfather movie series and I bought her the DVD set for Christmas a few years ago.
We were looking forward to watching the new season of Dexter on DVD together (I bought it and watched it without her, feeling a bit guilty doing so).
She loved the television series Top Chef, loved to talk about the episodes, and would get annoyed if she missed one and you gave away the ending.
She loved her new Toyoto Rav 4. Her ex-husband was a car dealer, so she knew all the tricks of the trade and made the dealer jump through hoops when she bought it. Her daughter Mallory chose to leave the office and sit in the car because Dolores was yelling at the salesman and manager when they tried to modify the deal they had agreed to. I’m sure they still talk about the crazy woman in their sales meetings. I would have had her negotiate my next car purchase.
I miss hearing her telling her Lowe’s story. Before we met, she had purchased a small shed from Lowe’s and it was missing some hardware. Several times she stopped in to see if the hardware had come in, several times they called telling her it had come in, but each time when she went in to pick it up they didn’t have it. She became so irate that she borrowed her brother’s (Wyman’s) truck, loaded all the parts of the shed, and returned to the store. After they told her, once again, they didn’t have the parts, she got her money back and as the worker came out with her to help her unload it, she told him it wasn’t his fault, but flung the various pieces of it all over the lot and drove off. She expected to be pulled over and arrested for destroying the shed…
