Why Blackberries are My Favorites? - No not the PDA/Telephone Type.........But

Blackberries mean Nostalgia galore for me.........Memories of a hot summer day August 10, 1985...It was a scorcher! Actually the whole summer was one big blast of heat for me........I was pregnant with my first child and feeling every inch of a Beached Whale!.....ok.......lets fast forward.....:-)

There I was in the hospital bed, after ummm not sure how many thousands of contractions and epidurals later.........with a brand new baby boy! Christopher Adam Moras....

Within hours family was flocking into the hospital to visit what for both grandparents was the First Grandchild.

My in-laws had to come from North Vancouver (about an hour away, with the foot heavy on the pedal :-)

And this is what I remember like it was yesterday...........my father-in-law Harry........reached over and picked up my baby boy........with the Purplist hands I'd ever seen!......I was mesmerized......trying to figure out what he had been doing with them?........when my mother-in-law Gina said in her wonderful Italian accent...."Oh Harry - you forgot to wash your hands!"........

I don't know if he was embarassed or indignant but dear old Dad responded: "What do you expect Woman?.........I was out in the back picking Blackberries for you when you hollered out the window that our Grandson was born and that we had to HURRY HARRY right now and get on in the car and head right on over!"........

I found the photo - it almost...captures it!:-)

Well to this day, the smell, sight and taste of Blackberries brings those memories back to me like they were yesterday......In the blink of an eye - my son Chris.......will be turning 23 on Sunday....And I still think of my father-in-law's big strong purple hands cradling him......this time every year.......and I'm transported back in time......

Nonno Moras with Chris in Sechelt when he was 2 .....We miss you Nonno!

Chris with My Dad Last Christmas!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property in Chilliwack or the Fraser Valley Area of B.C., please give Liz Moras, Associate Broker & REALTOR® of Re/Max Nyda Realty, a call! Call Liz at 604-799-0459 or e-mail at lizmoras@shaw.ca. Be sure to check out Liz's website www.lizmoras.com and blog at www.lizmoras.activerain.com.

Posted Tuesday Aug 05

( 08/05/08 04:41PM ) — Kathleen Brooke

They grow so fast. He is a handsome boy. This is a great expression. Thank you for sharing.

( 08/05/08 06:34PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Kathleen.......thank you for stopping by and commenting........they grow up ........and We grow old.........hmmm........i like growing up better!:-)

( 08/05/08 07:47PM ) — Sylvie Conde - Broker - Toronto Real Estate

Oh Liz, that's soooooooooooo sweet ... I love blackberries .... and happy birthday, Chris. :)

You made me remember Dec 20, 1990 ... just like it was yesterday, when Alex came into this world, and here he sits, beside me on his computer, almost 18 years old, 6 feet tall... Time flies ... and I'm not sure I like getting old ... this fast. :)

( 08/05/08 08:08PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Thanks Sylvie........:-).....Its so sentimental ( I guess theres a reason why mental is part of that word! lol).......yes your boy too.............sunrise..........sunset.......

( 08/05/08 08:09PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

thank you Jan....:-)..I could sit for hours going through stacks and stacks of old photos.....old memories.........and a bowl of blackberries...........:-)

( 08/05/08 08:16PM ) — Debra A. Brooks Lake Livingston Waterfront Specialist

Happy Happy birthday Chris! Liz what a handsome young man! And a handsome and proud granddaddy! It's amazing what we remember. What actually registers in our minds for the long term. Blackberries are one of my favorites as they were my dads. This is a precious memory and a great addition to your (and the kids) Diary.

You are a blessing to us all Liz! Keep posting. We love you.

Later in the rain~Deb

( 08/05/08 08:37PM ) — Bill Gatten

Slumber

A small child

Plays in the moist sand

By the sea

Filling a plastic pail

With pebbles and shells.

While but a short distance away,

Lulled by the sound

Of lapping waves, seabird cries,

And a caressing summer sun,

Lightly napping,

The young mother

Is taken in reverie

To young-girl places,

In distant "other" times:

Where but for a fleeting momen

she lives instead

A gaudy globe

Of a million tiny silver mirrors

Whirls, sprinkling star specks

On crepe paper ribbons

And the happy cheeks of boys and girls,

In mock dream-loving

The woman clings

A re-lived moment to a phantom boy

Who once had given her flowers.

Pajama'd…pin-curler'ed,

And mud-packed lady miniatures,

Bundled together in secret

To giggle, and

Softly whisper

One to another

Of forbidden discoveries...

…of becoming the women they will,

And of the boys

They’ll bring to manhood.

As the mother dreams

Moonlit Jamaican beaches,

Gaudy Moroccan movie sets,

Limousines,

Long-stemmed roses,

Billowing Chiffon dresses

Come to replace the

carefree butterfly days

Holding the dreamer

Into her afternoon

At last a cool sea breeze

Caresses the dreaming woman

Signaling the end of a beautiful day

Awakening --

Into the dimming daylight of afternoon,

The mother knows and sobs,

Spilling her warm mother tears . . .

Upon the reality that is now only the cooling sand

Her child is gone,

Taken as she dreamed.

Taken by the same young-girl ghosts,

Who dance, and whisper dark secrets

And dare to dream.

The child has become Woman,

In but the briefest moment…

Of a loving mother’s careless dreaming

By the sea.

Bill Gatten

RE Investor Trainer and Entrpreneur

( 08/05/08 10:19PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Thanks Deb.......i loved your post about your mom......so similar wavelengths.....thanks for the postive comments and encouragement........and thanks on Chris' behalf.......as for the post after yours...........hmmm. what do you think happened ? :-) a video gone awry? :-)

( 08/05/08 10:20PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Bill -i love the words/poetry but i'm thinking it was a video you tried to ad.......? let me know and maybe i can help you post it...:-)

( 08/06/08 12:54AM ) — Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector

Nice blog Liz. I was out in my yard today. Saw that the blackberries are doing well. Too distracted to pick them I am sorry to say.

( 08/06/08 01:03AM ) — Steve Shatsky - Dallas Real Estate & Short Sale Specialist

Hi Liz... What a great post and wonderful pictures. It is amazing how time flies and the memories that something as simple as blackberries can bring back to us over and over again! Happy Birthday Chris!

( 08/06/08 01:29AM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Steven........thanks......:-) you gotta stop and smell pick the blackberries! :-)

( 08/06/08 01:32AM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Steve.......- two Steve S's in a row!:-)

Steve (Shatsky) thank you........it really is the simple simple things that often are the most memorable.......who can make any sense of it.......if we knew that thats how it would turn out......how differently would we live our lives....I wonder...?......

( 08/06/08 02:35AM ) — Christine Donovan Costa Mesa Real Estate (Broker/Attorney) 800-610-7253

What a wonderful story and a wonderful memory. It's amazing what triggers memories.

( 08/06/08 06:40AM ) — Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth

Liz, this is such a touching story of how blackberries trigger memories for you and with Chris how fast time moves too. I hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration. This post has been featured in Diary of a Realtor. Congratulations.

( 08/06/08 08:14AM ) — Austin Real Estate, Kyle Real Estate Celeste Messer

Liz, I got choked up reading your story. Things have a funny way of jogging our memories. I wrote a review of a local restaurant and I always jokingly (and not so jokingly I guess) warn people that I love the memories of food. I think of vacations I've had in terms of the food I ate etc...but back to my point...I always warn people when I give recommendations for restaurants that I love White Castle hamburgers.

I don't generally eat fast food much any more, but when I go back to Indiana to visit my mom I always go out of my way to stop at White Castles to get five hamburgers (and some to go).

I realize now perhaps it's not the hamburgers that I love so much but the memories that come with them. Growing up in a family of seven kids we didn't have much money so we rarely went out to eat, partly because my mom felt it was silly to spend money and eat food that wasn't as healthy as home cooking. But sometimes dad would insist (much to the kids delight of course). So we'd pile into the car and head to White Castles.

I see now that the place holds all kind of memories for me. Especially now that my dad is gone. So be it a handful of blackberries or bite of a little greasy hamburger...the triggers take us back in time.

Thanks for sharing.

Celeste

( 08/06/08 04:27PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Thanks Gary - just writing it was a sentimental journey..:-)

( 08/06/08 04:40PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Celeste I get choked just rereading my own blog! smile....Oh you should do a post about 'White Castle Burgers'...and the nostalgia it brings....I loved reading your share too! Thanks...:-)

( 08/06/08 07:51PM ) — Brenda Tressler

Thanks for sharing that story... I was wonder where blackberries were in the story. This story will make any mother cry. Tell your son HAPPY BIRTHDAY and happy day to you Too! Brenda :)

( 08/06/08 07:56PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Brenda..:-) I took too long to get to the punchline did i? :-) Thanks for the wishes and comments, and yep.....it is a bit of a 'mom' thing isn't it? :-)

( 08/06/08 10:04PM ) — Susan Mangigian, West Chester PA Realtor RE/MAX Preferred, ABR

Liz, this is beautiful. You have a beautiful family! Being Italian, this story is very dear to me.

( 08/06/08 10:25PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Yes susan........i thought you might like it..........:-) plus i know how close to your boys you are....I'm Croatian......he wa italian.....i guess he still is............we divorced a long time ago......i'm not sure my mother in law has ever quite forgiven me...:-)

( 08/06/08 10:31PM ) — Susan Mangigian, West Chester PA Realtor RE/MAX Preferred, ABR

Liz, one of my closest friends is Jewish and her husband is Italian. For a wedding gift, his Italian mother bought them a crucifix!! Can you imagine!! Talk about being subtle! It doesn't matter if she forgives you or not. You are where you are meant to be! xxoo

( 08/06/08 10:36PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Susan........it was a long long time ago.........20 years?......lol.........the crucifix........what a riot.......i hope they put it right above their bed...;-)

( 08/09/08 08:56AM ) — Chuck Willman, Arizona Realtor® 480.292.0600

Liz- I love your posts... you are gifted with the ability to capture the symbolism of the moment. I too have these triggers (and I'm sure it's not a unique thing)- it's one of the greatest treasures we humans have.... that gift of memory and happy thoughts that we can reflect upon. Thanks so much for sharing this.

( 08/09/08 09:22AM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Chuck thank you! :-) Thats so nice of you to say - and I love to have you as a 'reader'...and that you take the time to comment and reflect....yes 'triggers' are an amazing thing ....both good and bad eh? :-)

( 08/12/08 07:22AM ) — Brenda Tressler

turtle What a great picture! You can just feel the love & joy! This post still makes me smile seeing it a second time. Thanks for the update... Brenda :)

( 08/12/08 11:33AM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Thanks Brenda for coming back and commenting ! I couldn't believe I found the photo - I was i the middle of making a scrapbook for my Son's birthday on Sunday - and there it was! :-)

( 08/12/08 05:30PM ) — Spokane Home Loan -- Casey Brischle -- Mortgage Professional

Happy birthday indeed! Great story Liz. I love the story! We have our second child due in October and are very excited!

( 08/12/08 10:58PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Casey I'm glad you liked it - it was very personal for me so very special too! :-) Congratulations on the coming of another of life's treasures...:-)

( 08/12/08 11:00PM ) — Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty

Karen - memories, triggers, associations......special how they happen....thank you..:-)

Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty
Serving Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley & Fraser Valley

Liz Moras- Team Leader & Managing Broker Keller Williams Valley Realty : Real Estate Agent in Chilliwack, BC

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