THAT TIME THAT MRS. LO BLEW THE DOOR OFF THE OVEN - LITERALLY.

As my readers know, Mrs. Lo loves to cook.  Actually, I love to feed people delicious, homemade food.  Note I did not say "feed my family," because I don't just feed my family of four.  That would be too easy.  There are always other kids over at LoBiondoFork during the week, having dinner before crew, football, or basketball practice.  And of course, Sunday Dinner has become a virtual TailGate Party, with friends and family en masse.  Except that it's indoors and, instead of sandwiches, we have Lasagna or Chicken Parm or some other dish I have spent all week making.

Mrs. Lo likes to do everything in monumental proportions.  We didn't just start a little rowing program to teach a few kids who were not traditional rowers, we have a well-funded, 50-rower strong America Rows Newburgh program, which is now a national program, one of 36 nationwide Affiliates of USRowing.  I don't just have a closet full of shoes, I have two Imelda Marcos style walk-in closets of Louboutins, Manolos and Miu Mius (not that I ever get to wear them anymore).  If I find out a witness has lied to me, I don't want to just expose a prior inconsistent statement, I want the witness to cry tears of shame, and apologize for violating the Social Covenant, while I have them on the stand.

So it's not surprising that I don't just want my family to eat food, I want them to have delicious, nutritious, homecooked meals every night.  Even though I work full time.  And devote almost all of my spare time to the Newburgh Rowing Club.  And some other sports and charities.  This requires planning at a level that makes a Federal RICO trial look like a pre-school project.  I literally plan my meals out 6 months ahead.  I buy in bulk at at a shameless level and shop at Sams Club with two carts.  The people who work the registers think I own a deli.  All of this "product" is stored in a walk in pantry, two refrigerators, and a deep freezer.  I cook 6 lasagnas at a time, my family eats two and I freeze 4.  I also cook 4 lbs of chili at a time, always having 2 crockpots going.  We will go through 2 lbs in one day  and freeze the rest.

As all parents who cook know, you cannot expect to get home at 4 or 5 pm and cook dinner.  That’s impossible.  All you have time to do, if you intend to get your kids to football or crew or basketball practice on time, is heat up something you cooked ahead.  And so I always have trays of food in the freezer, meaning I spend Saturday nights and most of my free time shopping at Sams Club and cooking.  I couldn’t be happier.  My family is around me, and I have a little TV in the kitchen where I watch HGTV (will they love it or list it??)

Thus, it was probably not a big surprise when I blew the doors off my beloved  KitchenAid oven.  Well, the door didn’t actually come off, thank God.  The crack inside the oven started as a hair line.  With each batch of lasagna, it grew and grew.  Then after making 12 lbs of chicken parm, I opened up the oven door and the glass had cracked and shattered.  I called my husband over and he confirmed it.  “Yup.  You finally blew the door off,” he said.

            I called Michael’s Appliances and explained that I didn’t care what it cost I needed the glass replaced right away.  “Wow,” said the serviceman on the phone,” you must really cook a lot.”  Hey, when your appliance repairman is impressed with your level of cooking, it’s a high compliment.

            But nothing beats the actual service call.  My husband met the man at the house.  Christian had let him in.  When Anthony got home, the repairman was on the phone asking someone how to remove the oven door.  Then he turned to Anthony, perplexed, “Do you have any idea how this door comes off?”  Yes, I do, answered my husband, my wife likes her oven clean and I have to take it off fairly regularly.  He went over and pulled the door off.  Then the repairman reportedly set the oven door on top of my wooden salad bowl.  At that point, both my sons and my husband came running over in near panic mode, “Oh no, not Mom’s salad bowl, you do not want to put the door on top of that, she will have a fit!”  I wasn’t there but this was all reported to me by my family.  Apparently, the serviceman thinks I’m some type of an Oven Ogre.  In any event, the newly serviced oven door is back on and back in service. 

            And just in time, I am making baked ziti and Sausage and Peppers for Game Day on Sunday FunDay.  Hashtag this one:  I Used to Buy Louboutins but now I spend all my money on food and appliances.  Betty Crocker would be proud.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

            Have a great day everyone and, as always, Remember to Count Your Blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO “OFF SEASON”?

Every year, as the Northeast grumbles its way from the glory of Autumn to the drudgery of Winter, Mrs. Lo secretly rejoices.  Winter may bring on darkness, bitter cold, and the national disaster known as the “2-Hour Delay,” but it also brings on another chapter, at least for me:  the Off Season. 

In Spring, we have the High Holy sprint season for crew.  This is followed by the langorous days of Summer Camp at Newburgh Rowing and summer rowing.  Soon to follow is Football camp, which starts in July, then comes the crazy time.  Fall means Head Season for rowing (longer races), Fall Regattas, and Football Season.  Translation:  7 days a week of sports, plus travelling.  Not to mention all that goes on behind the scenes at Newburgh Rowing to make all this, and the Student Ambassador program, happen.  Thus it is,  that while some of my friends and loved ones grumble about winter, I look at it as blissful relief.  It has traditionally been my “Off Season”.

            During my Off Season, I hibernate.   Yes, there are still winter rowing practices but, with carpooling, that’s a light commitment on my part.  Winter is the time when I catch up on everything.  My reading, my scrapbooking and photo albums, and of course, my cooking.  I spend the Winter weekends curled up with my family reading, playing board games, and cooking.  I may make 8 – 12 trays of food per weekend, from lasagna, to meatballs, to chicken parm, to put in the deep freezer.  I store up for the days ahead when I have little or no time to cook.  We dust off the board games and have marathon sessions of Parchessi, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuits, among others.   Last year, I even started canning blueberries, just as I had seen my grandmother do decades ago.  I had big plans to cook, freeze and can this Winter.

            Then, last summer, Michael joined the Newburgh Rowing Club.  Which has been wonderful, we both have indoor rowing on Tuesdays and Thursdays this winter.  And while we were in Disney, Christian said he’d like to join the Bishop Dunn basketball team when we get back.  There were only two practices a week and the games were all relatively local.  Sounded easy enough.  Then I remembered, we had signed him and Anthony and Kelvin up for Indoor Soccer in New Windsor, a friendly Friday night kickabout.  And Michael has Irish Dancing after school two days a week.  And Michael’s swimming on Saturdays.  And the Student Ambassador Learn to Swim Clinic on Mondays.  Oh, and I work out with a personal trainer two days a week.

            As I was furiously making Chicken Parm at 10 pm on a Thursday night, intended for after the basketball games the following weekend, it hit me:  I don’t have an Off Season this year.  The freezer will be stocked a little bit, but not like last year, when I went into crew season with 60 trays of food already frozen.   Nor will there be any canning this Winter (that was probably a pipe dream anyway).  There will, however, be lots of high fiving and cheering.  There will be tables full of rowers and basketball players after school and after games, carbloading on Lasagna and Ziti.  There will be lots of food, lots of laughs, lots of hugs, lots of Love. 

            And then one day, a very long time from now, there will be quiet.  Because the kids will be in college.  And there will be plenty of time to cook and bake and can.  To read and garden.  And then, to coin the Trace Adkins song, we’re going to miss this.  We’re going to want this back.  We’re going to wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast.   And to quote the song directly:

“These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this”

          A year ago yesterday, I lost one of my dearest friends and longtime paralegal, Debbie.  Her death was sudden, and the final act of removing her from the machines took place right in front of me.  She was only a few years older than I am.  She had kids much younger in life, so she had children and grandchildren, who she adored.  The day Debbi died, Anthony and I were physically and mentally drained.  We went to dinner at the River Grill, and then I came home, got under the electric blanket and read all afternoon and all night.  Relaxing is important but I don’t need an entire season off.

          Nor am I going to get an off season.  But that’s just fine.  Instead, God has seen fit to give me a Life.  A Life filled with family, friends, Love, and blessings.  And I do mean Blessings.  Just when I thought I couldn’t go on without some type of break, we got a phone call from the Disney Vacation Club.  I had miscalculated the points they had gifted us for free.  Basically, we were entitled to a free vacation.  Just enough the two of us to take a long weekend at the Disney Vacation Club’s Vero Beach Resort in Florida.  I checked my frequent flier miles.  More than enough for free airfare there and back.  And so, just in the moment I was counting all my blessings, rather than complaining, God gave me just what I needed:  a free mini-vacation in the sun and the sand with my husband right in the middle of the Winter.

          In the moment you decide not only to “roll with it” but to be thankful for it all, you may just be pleasantly surprised.  Basketball, Indoor Rowing, Swimming, Irish Dance, Indoor Soccer, and the Learn to Swim Clinic for the Student Ambassadors are a welcome part of my Winter.  I wouldn’t trade any one of them.  And to think, I have friends who complain there is nothing to do in the Winter, the poor dears! 

          Have a great day, everyone, and as always, remember to Count Your Blessings!  <3  Mrs. Lo www.LoBiondo.org (Photo of Christian accepting the OCPSLeague Varsity Scholar Athlete Award for Bishop Dunn Memorial School)
NOTE:  the above Blog is from last year.  For the record, we have yet to experience an off season.  After basketball, Christian went to freshman football (yes, football starts in July).  From there, we proceeded to winter track.  And then directly to Spring crew, which is where we now find ourselves.  I am so looking forward to an off-season.  Someday!  

The Greatest Gift

THE GREATEST GIFT – I firmly believe that the greatest gift you can pass on to your children is the love of reading.  Not money, not athletic prowess, not even the secret to studying and getting good grades.  If I could identify the single most important gift I pass on to my kids it is the love of books and the love of reading.  My mother, a public school teacher for over 30 years, passed that on to me.  Along with my grandmother, who had a Doctorate in Education, one of the first females in the nation to get an EdD.  My mother always said, when my kids were little, “you have to bathe your children in words.”  Mrs. O’Neill, our pre-K teacher at BDMS, and a former professor of children’s literature at the Mount, always used the famous quote, “I was rich indeed, for I had a parent who read to me.”  I had once read that if you rubbed your belly while pregnant and asked for two things, that’s what you would get, so with both kids I rubbed my belly and said over and over “Baby Loves to Read, Baby Loves to Swim.”  We have tens of thousands of books in our home, from poetry and rare and antique books to Dr. Seuss.  I have read to my kids every night as long as the oldest let me I still read picture books to Michael at night.  Michael and I sit and read in our Reading Chair every day. 

     Imagine my utter horror when I realized one day that Christian had stopped reading.  Don’t get me wrong, he reads his novels for school and his textbooks, and he’s on the high honor roll.  But he had simply stopped reading non-school books.  True, he was busy with school, athletics, and friends, but everybody has time for a book.  When I realized he wasn’t reading, my blood literally froze.  There could be no greater failure in my life.  I’d rather have him stop doing sports than stop reading, I was horrified.

            So I prayed.  And I asked my mom for suggestions.  “Well, I’m sure they already had him read Salinger in school, how did that strike him?”  And then it hit me.  He goes to Catholic School, they are never going to assign “Catcher in the Rye,” the book by J.D. Salinger that changed my life and the lives of so many before and after me.  Brilliant, Lola, I said!  That’s it, I will get him “Catcher in the Rye.”  That was 6 months ago.  In the meantime, Michael polished off the entire Percy Jackson series, my husband probably read 30 novels and I read about 10 novels along with the newest biographies of Winston Churchill as well as Alexander the Great.  We are all voracious readers.  But that darn copy of “Catcher in the Rye,” which has sold over 65 million copies since it came out in 1951 and continues to sell 250,000 copies a year, just sat on the coffee table.  Staring back at me.  Mocking me.  I could almost hear Holden Caufield, the main character, saying, “well, who’s the phony now?”  The thing is, I knew Christian would love this novel, he is so Holden.  I have read everything by Salinger, every short story, Frannie and Zooey, the Glass stories, you name it, several times over. 

            I love to read and I love to research the authors.  Especially American literature.  I had my law school graduation at the same table at the Alongquin Hotel where Dorothy Parker, James Thurber, Edna Ferber and Donald Ogden Stewart, among other great writers used to gather to form the “Vicious Circle” of writers and journalists from 1919 – 1929.  Many of my NYU professors begged me to pursue writing “or at least journalism.”  Maybe in my retirement.  In the meantime, I write my blog and -- isn’t everyone working on the great unfinished American novel? 

            Then the documentary “Salinger” came out, in honor of his 105^th birthday, which was January 1, 2014.  I have watched it several times.  I thought I knew everything about Salinger.  Some things were well known, some things were new.  Some things I wish I hadn’t learned.  That was it, I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I became like a madwoman.  I marched into my son’s room, where he was talking on the phone and I started shaking “Catcher” at him:  “Jerry Salinger stormed the beaches of Normandy carrying the pages of this book!  He liberated the Nazi concentration camps carrying the pages of this book!  This isn’t just a book, this is THE coming of age book, and if you do not read it right now I will have FAILED as a mother.  Do you understand me?  I don’t care if you ever row again, I don’t care if you ever catch a football again, I don’t even care about the Honor Roll!  If you do not at least read one chapter in this book, I will have failed!”  Ok, that was a little dramatic but what can I say.  What did my son do?  “Um, I’m on the phone, Mom, can you calm down?”  That’s it, I’m done, I said to myself. The world needs ditch diggers too.

            Christian is not a cruel child.  He could see his mother was distressed.  Out of sheer pity for me, he began reading the book.  Then something magical happened.  He started getting into it.  In fact, he spent all day reading it.  He stayed up until 3am reading it.  However, he wouldn’t finish reading it right away, because he loved it so much, he couldn’t bear for it to end.  All readers know that feeling. 

            And so it was that I went out to Barnes and Noble in a blizzard to buy “Frannie and Zooey,” the next book by Salinger, so there would be something to look forward to.  Finally, my oldest son is a reader again.  He’s back.  More than any crew victory, or football victory, or even making Principal’s List, THIS was my greatest victory to date as a mother.  Baby loves to read!

            Keep reading everyone, and keep fighting for your kids.  Above all,  remember to count your blessings!  Have a great Saturday, everyone! <3 Mrs. Lo 

Mrs. Lo's Top 10 Pieces of Advice for 2014

Hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close but here we stand on the precipice of 2014.  Here are Mrs. Lo’s Top 10 Pieces of Advice for the new year, from various sage persons I have known in my life:

10.  ON PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORIES - from my dear friend Vivian Lanzarone, professional photographer: “My sister died when I was young, and when we looked around the house, we had virtually no photographs of her.  I started taking lots of photos of the family and then became inspired to become a professional photographer.  You can never have too many photographs of your family.  Never.”

9.  ON BEING THERE FOR YOUR KIDS – from Coach Kennedy, Senior Rowing Coach in the Hudson Valley, Programs Director for the Newburgh Rowing Club and Head Coach of the NFA Varsity Crew Team:  “There is no choice between a non championship crew meet and your son’s Playoff football game.  Skip the crew meet.  My mother came to every single one of my high school football games.  Every time I looked up in the stands, I looked for her and every time, I found her there in the stands.  And it gave me courage and inspired me.  There’s nothing more important than being in the stands for your son’s playoff football game.”

8.  ON BEING ABLE TO LET GO – from Coach Brad Clausen, Head Coach of the Goldbacks YFL D3 Division: “Sometimes things happen in a game that shouldn’t happen.  But you have to let it go.  What’s more important is, how are you the adult, behaving as role models for these kids. The kids are always watching to see how their coaches and parents will react.  In the end, football is a game.  Accept it, thank God for your healthy players and a great season, and move on.”

7.  ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTHOOD OVER CAREER – from Judge Thomas Dolan, retired Dutchess County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice:  “You want to know my advice on whether to accept that Law Partnership or keep working part-time so you can be home with your baby?  That’s simple, Julie.  Put off making money for now.  You’ll have plenty of time to make up for it later.    You’ll be a lawyer for the rest of your life.  But your kids will only be babies for a little while.”

6.  ON MARRIAGE – from my Mom:  “Never discuss the inner workings of your marriage with anyone, not your kids, your girlfriends, not even with me.  Marriage is sacred, what happens in a marriage is between you and your husband, and no one else.”

5.  ON PARTNERSHIP – from my Husband.  When asked at a cocktail party how we figured out the partnership split every year: “what’s to figure out when you share everything you have?”

4.  ON BULLIES – from Lolo (my Dad):  “you kids have been kind of sheltered but soon you’re going to go out into the real world soon.  There will be people who don’t like you, either because you’re mixed race, or any number of reasons.  No matter what someone says to you, you are never allowed to get in a fight over words.  Words can hurt, but you don’t use physical force to retaliate. Even if they make fun of your parents, you have to turn and walk away.  (And this part was for my brother, not me) However, if someone throws the first punch, you have permission to square up and finish it.”

3.   ON SELF CONFIDENCE:  from Michael, my 9 year old son:  “You have to believe in yourself, Mommy, because I always believe in you.”

2.  ON MONEY - from Phil Shatz, my mentor, and a former senior partner, now of counsel, to the Poughkeepsie law firm of McCabe and Mack and one of the most successful people I know (advice given to me when I was in my twenties and Phil was in his late sixties):  “Kid, I’m going to give you a little piece of advice about money.  Right now, you have enough.  You just don’t realize it.  People don’t realize that if they have enough money to put a roof over their head, keep the lights on, and buy some food, they have enough and the rest is just gravy.  Once you grasp that, you’ll not only be happier, you’ll start making money hand over fist.”

1.  ON LIFE – from Nellen, my beloved grandmother:  “Jules, remember to count your blessings every day, just the way we do every night before you go to sleep.   Love Your Life and be thankful for what God gives you, taking the good with the bad.  Because it’s the only Life you’re going to get – this is not a Dress Rehearsal.”

Happy New Year’s Eve, Everyone!  Thank you to all my Readers, for reading, liking, sharing, commenting, entering the contests, and just checking the page once in a while.  It’s been a great 2013, looking forward to spending 2014 together with you too!  Remember to Count Your Blessings, Love You All! <3 Mrs. Lo 

“HEY, SANTA, AREN’T YOU MY GYM TEACHER?”

 Once again, this past Christmas Eve day, the Newburgh Rowing Club and NFA Crew Team members teamed up with Danielle Crinieri’s Families 4 Families to deliver presents to adopted families in the City of Newburgh.  I do a lot of rewarding things in my life, and this is definitely one of the most rewarding  events of the year, and something I look forward to all year.

     Danielle started this massive undertaking about a decade ago.  She started out   with a handful of families, with my Sister and Brother-in-law helping out with the purchasing and delivering.  This year, Families 4 Families provided toys, clothes, coats, home goods, gifts, food and a holiday dinner for over 137 families in the City of Newburgh.  Social workers identify deserving families, who make out a “wish list” and they are anonymously “adopted” by individuals, schools, businesses and groups.  For instance, Mrs. Lo adopted “Family no. 21” a family with three[u1]  kids.  I got everything on their very simple Wish List and then had fun getting them extra things I thought they could use and enjoy.  I made them homemade lasagna and homemade chicken parm, and my kids went to their savings account and used it to buy Target gift cards for the kids.

            Many, many individuals, businesses and families donate to make this happen, and it is all overseen by Danielle, who also goes out and shops for the multitude of families. Everything is “housed” at Bishop Dunn Memorial School, then comes the wrapping, which is largely done by BDMS students and families, and former students and families.

     This year, on delivery day, which is the morning of Christmas Eve, I dressed up as Mrs. Santa, and retired City of Newburgh police officer and Newburgh Rowing dad, Jim Cobey, dressed up as Santa Claus.  I think we had about 20 people from the Rowing Club, between rowers and parents, out helping this year. 

     Last year, Coach Kennedy dressed as Santa Claus and it was really a hit.  The only problem was, being a phys ed teacher and coach in Newburgh for 23 years, he knew students and former students everywhere we went.  He even ran into students who were now grandparents.  The conversations went like this:  “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas from Families 4 Families.”  The kids would look at him and say things like, “Hey, Santa, aren’t you my gym teacher” or “Coach Kennedy, remember me, you were my football coach, here meet my grandson.”

     In the past when I helped with deliveries, I would just hand the sack of presents, say “Merry Christmas,” and be on my way.  Then I started the Student Ambassador Program and started driving around the City of Newburgh and going into kids’ houses and it all started to click. I decided to get out and meet and greet, speak to people in Spanish where called upon, and make it a little bit more of a presentation.

      Then Coach Kennedy got involved.  People recognized him or his truck and would run up to us in the streets and say, “Mr. Kennedy, I have nothing for the kids, can you help us.”  Coach told them sure, I will be back at Lander Street at noon, meet me there.  Last year, we went back and got the leftover presents and, as promised, we drove to the middle of Lander Street at noon.  A crowd was gathered.  The presents were labeled by gender and age.  We stood in the back of the pickup truck and were throwing presents to the kids.  Coach would identify a kid and their age and yell, “I need a boy present, age 8”, we would find something and we would throw it down, assembly line style until Santa Coach delivered the present.  People were openly weeping, saying they had nothing to give their kids and would not have had a Christmas had it not been for the “Santa truck.”  One woman told me in Spanish that her husband had just died the week before and had expected absolutely nothing.  Her kids were grown but we gave her all the “lady presents,” coat, perfume, scarf, we could find.  She was overcome with emotion and gratitude and kept thanking me in Spanish.

     Coach was unavailable this year, so Mr. Cobey stepped in.  One of the first houses we went to, one of our rowers banged on the door.  “No, no, that’s the Landlord Knock,” said another rower.  “Mommy, what’s a Landlord?” said Michael, my 9-year-old.  Christian, my 13 yo, has been going around with me doing my various City of Newburgh community projects for a good 3 years now.  This was Michael’s first time doing the Families 4 Families delivery run. 

     It’s very important to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  When I say to my kids, “To whom much is given, much is expected,”  I really mean it.  It is now time for Michael to come out of his bubble and see a little more of real life.  He couldn’t understand the concept of an apartment, he thought the entire building was the family’s house.  When I explained that the apartment building had several families living in it, he said, “Like when I get married and have kids and we all come live with you and Daddy?”  Not exactly.  We’re still working on the concept, but we have time.

      The kids this year just LOVED that Santa came to their house with sacks full of presents and a turkey or ham.  To see these little kids jumping up and down and whispering in Santa’s ear was just priceless.  I would pick up babies and they would hang on to me play peek a boo with me.  I packed a big green sack full of bags of cookies so we would give them out to the kids, and it was a real hit.  “Ohhh, Mrs. Santa, just one more bag of cookies,” the kids would say.  I know all of our rowers were very much touched by the whole thing.

     Someone recently tried to thank me for helping out with Families 4 Families, and I had to set them straight.  This organization is 90% Danielle Crinieri and all the rest of us pick up the slack.  Really, this one woman pretty much does it all.  She has no title, no staff, no office, no Awards Ceremony; there is no TV crew following her around, although there should be.  She has touched so many lives for so many years.  I love that the Newburgh Rowing Club can help her out a little bit. 

     And, as with all my projects, it’s always my own kids, and our rowers, who end up being enriched in the end.  After opening presents at three different houses, I found Michael sitting in the midst of all the wrapping paper and toys, looking into the distance.  I asked what he was thinking about.  “I’m thinking about the kids at (ADDRESS IN NEWBURGH) today, how they all sleep in one room.  And I was thinking I have so many presents.  Maybe I could trade some of my presents in for bunk beds for them.”  What a great thought, I told him, maybe next year.

     As my grandmother always said, someone is praying for the things you take for granted.  Remember to Count Your Blessings, everyone, I can assure you that most of us are abundantly blessed.  Have a wonderful Saturday!  If you would like to adopt a family next year, or would like more info about Families 4 Families, which delivers Easter baskets in Newburgh and packs back to school Backpacks as well, please contact Danielle at Families 4 Families' facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Families-4-Families/260527340653989

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My Hero Dad's True Life Story - Happy Birthday, Lolo

This is a re-print of the most popular Facebook Page post on the LoBiondo Page, by far. I wrote this and posted is on the LoBiondo fb page for my father's birthday, last year.  It has been shared all over the country.   We are blessed to be celebrating his birthday together again this year.  Back by popular demand, here is the famous "Lolo Story": 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the first man I loved, my first and forever hero, and the most dependable, loyal, honest, charming, and loving man I have ever or will ever know, my dad, Mariano Muyot, known to everyone simply as "Lolo" (Tagalog for “Grandpa”). Lolo was born in Manila, the Philippines on December 26, 1935. His father was an optometrist, who had a large, beautiful home and office in the beautifultropical city of Manila. His mother a beautiful woman, a stay at home mom to him and his 5 much older brothers, they were all teenagers when he was born.

When WWII came to the Philippines, the Filipino army was probably one of the most under-prepared armies in the world at the time. Nonetheless, all 5 of my uncles volunteered and, because they were all educated, went in as officers. When my father was 7 years old, Japanese soldiers came to Lolo's beautiful house to interrogate his father, since my uncles were helping the U.S. Army learn to be "guerillas," the Japnese soldiers wanted to know where the US guerilla soldiers were. My uncle wouldn't give up their locations. He was beaten in front of my father and they smashed his precious eye-glass cases. The soldiers did not beat my grandmother but they slapped her in front of my father, which is something he will never forget. They burned down my father's house and took my grandfather to a concentration camp with other P.O.W.'s, including Filipino and US soldiers.

My father witnessed many atrocities and went from being an affluent doctor's son to being homeless. He never had a toy growing up. He looked in the sky and saw "dogfights" between US and Japanese warplanes daily. If you know history, you know that General Douglas MacArthur is personally responsible for saving the Philippines and the US soldiers left behind on that island nation. Truman was ready to abandon the nation and the American troops, but MacArthur said, "I shall return," to the Filipino people he loved so much and he meant it. Defying his own Commander-in-Chief and sabotaging his own career, MacArthur did come back, he did liberate the Philippines and the remaining American troops. My grandfather crawled home from the concentration camp, emaciated, he looked at the faces of his wife and children and moments later, died in my grandmother's arms. The "G.I.'s", the American soldiers who liberated the Philippines, were so good to the Filipino children they gave their own C-rations to the kids, including my dad.

Lolo vowed then and there to do something to re-pay the Americans. In 1963, he joined the U.S. Navy at Subic Bay Naval Base, initially as a foreign citizen. He served for 7 years. After serving in the Gulf of Tonkin, the only battle of Vietnam to be considered part of a "war" (Congress briefly declared war, then revoked it, hence Vietnam was actually a "conflict" although 56,000 soldiers and sailors died), he became a US Citizen under the provision whereby a foreign citizen who serves in the U.S. military during wartime is eligible for US citizenship. In between, he met an Irish American gal from Beacon, NY named Mary McCaffrey. They dated for a few weeks and got married in San Diego, CA during shore leave on April 4, 1964. They just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary.

I was born July 23, 1965 while my dad was on a ship in Vietnam. My brother was born December 20, 1967. After leaving the Navy, my dad worked a full career at IBM, from which he retired years ago. 

He had colon cancer in 2001 but beat it. He was in Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital on 9/11 when the planes hit. The nurses and doctors couldn't wait to meet me and tell me how all the patients were so scared but my father, who had just had surgery days ago, walked around the hospital wheeling his IV with him, comforting the patients, especially the younger ones, saying he had faced death several times before, and not to be afraid, the worst thing to do if you're going to die is to be in a state of panic, to put themselves in a state of peace and everything would be all right. They say he brought peace to an otherwise panicked hospital. I could go on and on about my dad. All I'm going to say is I was one lucky little girl, you can only imagine what it was like to be Daddy's little girl. Not that we had a lot of money, we didn't, but I always knew I was loved, loved, loved. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY, I LOVE YOU!!!

"LET THEM LICK THE SPOON: MRS. LO'S HOLIDAY POST 2013"

 It's hard to believe that Christmas is just 4 days away!  Whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday, it's a time for traditions.  For those who celebrate Christmas:  if you close your eyes and breathe in deeply, and clear your mind, you can probably remember your favorite childhood Christmas memories.  I'll bet it doesn't involve a toy or a possession.  Most likely, you will recall the fragrant smell of baked goods wafting through the kitchen, or the feelings of anticipation and excitement on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  And that is exactly what your kids and grandkids will remember.

We all work so hard to make Christmas perfect, to make sure Santa gets everything on the kids' lists, to have the tree done up just right, to entertain everyone.  All of which is wonderful.  But your kids won't remember the perfectly decorated tree or the dozens of gifts they opened.  I know what I remember.  No matter how busy my grandmother was, she would always make cookies with me.  I realized later that my grandmother had a Doctorate in Education, that her advice was highly esteemed and sought after, and that she had a lot more going on than baking cookies.  But she would drop everything and get on her apron and make cookies with me and, even if it was from a box, it was fabulous and fun.  And she would always let my brother and me lick the spoon.  It's one of my favorite Christmas memories from childhood.

The other night, Christian had a hankering for chocholate chip cookies.  Usually, that's not a problem because I always keep a giant tub of Pillsbury pre-made dough in the fridge.  I was a little off my game because we were just back from Disney and I hadn't done my big Sam's Club shopping trip yet.  I had him go check the downstairs refrigerator.  He bounded up the steps triumphantly with the tub of dough like he had just made the winning touchdown.  "Look, Mom, I found a tub, it feels kind of light though."  We peered inside.  Talk about disappointment. I had forgotten that I put the turkey fat from Thanksgiving in that tub.  Yuck.  He looked up at me and said, "it's OK, Mom, don't worry about it."

It had been a long day.  I had a lot of Christmas "work" to do.  But I knew that my grandmother would say, "Jules, forget your list of things to do.  Make them some cookies.  They don't even have to taste good."  I put on my apron and whipped up a batch of lopsided cookies.  Some chocolate chips, some butterscotch chips, whatever I could find.  And, of course, I gave them each a big spoon full of dough and a glass of milk.  The look on my oldest son's face told me that this was the kind of thing he would rememer.  Some day, he would realize how hard it must have been for his mother to be a lawyer and run a business all day, and still be able to make cookies for him.  "Thanks, Mom, you're the best," said Christian.  "The very best Mommy," said Michael as the two of them sat there watching "The Santa Clause" marathon and licking their spoons.

So many readers wrote in recently for the Holiday contest with their favorite traditions, all of which were lovely, I enjoyed reading them all.  For those who celebrate other holidays, like Chanukah, it's also a day of traditions: one Reader wrote in that it was a day their family all went skiing together.  For those of you who do celebrate Christmas, I wish you all the Merriest Christmas ever! Always remember the Reason for the Season. If you have kids and or grandkids, please remember to put down your Christmas "work" and get down on the floor to play, or get out and build a snow fort, or do something else together.  And if you make cookies, do be sure to let them lick them spoon.  If you have a family, a roof over your head, and enough grocery money to buy cookie dough, then you are very rich indeed.  Merry Christmas, Everyone! <3 Mrs. Lo  (Photo from Disney World's Animal Kingdom, December 2013).