Passion

Ben's mother, Suzanne, loved Spring -- the greening grass, the cheerful bulbs, and, especially, Easter. Easter was an important event in her life, and she most often called four to six weeks ahead of Easter Sunday to arrange a family celebration. In our earlier years of marriage Ben and I would often go to Sue's house for Easter dinner or have her and Ben's family to our house. More recently, we've had a family dinner at one of the clubs Sue and Ralph belonged to. Although the club was always decorated for Easter, Sue would bring along little Easter favors, usually real dyed Easter eggs in little nests of fake grass, and sometimes Easter bunnies of chocolate or fabric. In my life, Easter generally rushed in without my even anticipating it, and I appreciated Sue's drawing my attention to it and creating a pause to enjoy it.

Suzanne also loved beautiful decorative things, like antique linens, fine silver, and lovely old furniture. She took a keen interest in porcelain dishware, becoming a member of at least two local porcelain clubs, and acquiring samples from many porcelain factories. Another particular area of interest was antique dolls, mostly French, which she also collected. She was very generous in sharing these interests. I have several lovely pieces of china which were gifts from Suzanne, and a wonderful collection of Quimper French pottery which I enjoy every day. From Suzanne I received linen sheets, engraved silverware, fine jewelry, and antique Teddy Bears. I had never been interested in such things before I met her, but enjoyed her enthusiasm and caught some of it.

She loved to shop and especially loved auctions and estate sales. For years she was a regular at Sloan's, a big auction house in D.C. , and often participated in New York auctions, placing bids by phone. This was a passion I never caught, but I do have a favorite Quimper plate which I won at an auction I attended with her, and for years we had a white bench which I also acquired on one of my rare auction adventures with Sue.

Suzanne was a fan of Charles Dickens and Winnie the Pooh, and we still have the inscribed copy Good Night, Moon which she gave to baby Paul. She herself was a great story teller, providing entertaining oral histories of her family, especially her aunts, with whom she spent many of her childhood summers.

She was talented in crafts and interior design, astounding me by her ability to make tiny intricate Christmas stockings for her dolls, to see how the pieces of an old marble fireplace strewn across an auction floor would turn into the focal point of our living room, and how to set a beautiful dinner table.

As the years went by, illness and age replaced most of these passions, and life became restricted and sad. It's good to think of the earlier Suzanne, who got excited when Easter came around again, who eagerly showed off what she had won with the leading bid at Sloan's, and who was so generous to me and all my family. It's that passionate Sue who I'm thinking of as we prepare for the weekend ahead, gathering with her family and friends to lay her to rest.