Definition:survivor

SURVIVOR: To remain in existence and continue to function.  To live on.  To prosper.

In every way, Bubby Rene was a true survivor.  Not merely choosing existence, she came to this country and built a full life.  She would have fit the bill just by continuing to breath in and out.  She would have complied by she lived a quiet, shut-down, closed-off life.  

But she didn’t.  

Bubby Rene was a survivor by definition, living out loud with uncontainable love.  She prospered, swimming in nachas from even the smallest moments of joy. My short, soft, perfectly coiffed Bubby couldn’t lavish us with enough kisses and cottonpj’s, meatloaf or kishkas.  She wasn’t simply a bystander in her life, but rather a full-fledged participant; always ready with a meal at the drop of hat lest we feel a twinge of hunger and unclasping any complimented piece of jewelry before we could finish to try and give it to us.

She taught me the definition of love.  It’s pure love to know that Bubby Rene would be waiting outside on the balcony, sometimes for over an hour, just to have the first glimpse of our arrival, before she rushed to the front door to listen for footsteps.  She defined it in the way she hugged so tight and smothered my face with enough kisses to wash it clean, in the exorbitant number of photos of her children and grandchildren.  She defined love with the gleam in her eye any time the names of her children were mentioned.  

I miss my bubby.

Then again, I’ve missed her for a long time.  I don’t remember the last time I heard her admonish me “Don’t touch the hair” in her thick polish accent or was enveloped in a squishy hug.  It’s been a long time.

But Bubby Rene was a true survivor, even when it seemed like there was no good reason to anymore.

She lived on, no matter what.

She lived on because for every second that she could, she would breathe for those she loved who never got the chance.

She lived on because it was worth it somewhere, somehow, for another second with her family.

She lived for those she mourned, and those she loved.

I will forever be blessed to have had her and been loved by her.

If the motto is “We must always remember, We must never forget” She doesn’t have to worry.  

Bubby Rene, you are unforgettable.  I love you forever

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