I Don't Remember Momma

Perhaps it's the season or it may be the time in my life but I have been reflecting on the memories of my Mother a great deal lately.

She will be gone 30 years this March coming. She passed away at the age of 64 the same age I am now.  I now know how young she was when she died. I'm torn by the feeling that somehow she was cheated out of life.

The last 10 - 8 years of her life she spent in the hospital for months at a time for various illness. Her lungs failed her first and for most of her adult life she was a shut-in. I have childhood memories of coming home numerous times and finding a priest giving Momma Last Rites just in case she should pass in the night.

Mary Dorothy White Dupuis was only 4 foot 11 1/2 inches. She said the 1/2 inch made a difference. Dad was over 6 feet tall and just for fun we would line up between them and make steps. By we, I mean my siblings Joanne, Paul, Margie (than me in the middle) Gerard, Stephen and Leo. Dad would be first in line and as time moved on Mom moved down the human steps until finally she was at the end of the line. How she giggled whenever we did this. At Home & School meeting, The principal would ask for all parents of children in grade one to stand, grade two, grade three,  etc - Momma sat down only once I think. By the end of roll call she would be red faced. Those were the few times I remember going somewhere with Momma for they were so few. I remember winning an award in grade 6 or 7 for a poem I wrote for Remembrance Day. Dad and Momma went to the local Legion for a Remembrance Day ceremony and I think a got a silver dollar.

I remember Momma and I took a bus uptown to see My Fair Lady. She coughed a lot and an usher came over to ask her to be quiet. I told him off and sent him away. (PS - I get that from my Dad) Momma just smiled and look at the screen enjoying a rare day out.

I am writing because I'm fighting to remember her voice. I have a mirror to remind me of her face it stares back at me everyday. This face doesn't have the sweetness of her's or the warmth of her eyes but it's her face just the same. I'm crying. Sorry I don't mean to go all sentimental but it is the season.

With all this said, I don't want you to think that Momma was a weak person because she wasn't. She handled adversity like a lion tamer pushing it back and rose to conquer each and every day. She never complaint and prayed to our Lord for strength.

Momma had more talent in her little finger than most people had in their entire body. She mastered so many skills; Knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, painting, stain glass and ceramics. I think she passed that push to try anything without fear to all of us and certainly one of her greatest gifts to me.

When she developed cataracts and couldn't do anything but listen to the radio or the TV it hurt us all. By then Momma's heart wasn't well enough for even a cataract operation. I have had cataracts. I now realized the pain and despair she endured but never complainted, at least not to me.

When she died we were broken.  The centre of our world, our Momma was gone. I don't think any of us have fully recovered from the loss. The funeral we knew would be difficult were so many of us the wake would be trying. Dad was still working and all of us children had friends and acquaintances from our work places. How selfish it now sounds as I write this? How large we thought our own worlds were? Shame on us for thinking so little of her.

What we did not expect was the number of people who came because they knew Momma. Our Momma who was a shut-in and no one visited that much besides us.

All the people our sweet angel touched came to pay their respects. Doctors, nurses, chaplains, ladies who shared a hospital room with her years before. People who saw her name in the paper and remembered her and were honoured bound to tell us stories of how she spoke to their hearts and souls. They just had to come to share their stories with us. We filled books of signatures - names of those she touched in some small way. So much for a little shut-in. Momma's spirit was never trapped in that frail body of hers it soared to the heavens above.

Momma's the angel on top of my Christmas tree. I have only one wish and that's to remember her voice.

Love you Momma - Sweet Dreams

Untold Secrets - Chapter 12 TEN FOR THE DEVIL

Thank you for joining my characters at Saints Rest ...Here are the links for my novel "Ten For The Devil www.wattpad.com/4361692 for the 1st chapter & www.wattpad.com/15863630 for Chapter 12 Black Communion and www.wattpad.com/6933988 for my newest chapter Untold Secrets. I hope you enjoy it.  Please join me on Twitter@DeborahMitton and I will be able to update you with details of the upcoming chapters as they become available.

Ten for the Devil's title comes from the last line in a 1600 poem "A Murder of One" and my second book that I have just started takes its title from the same poem as well.  "Seven Secrets Never To Be Told". 

My novel is a Historical Suspense Fiction, starting in England but will finish in St John New Brunswick (in 1877 Saint John was spell St John).  St. John at the time of the Great Fire was one of four - largest Ship Building ports in the world.  I want to share some of the City's history with my readers without being preachy.  

Working on the new chapter "The Albino Moon" which I hope with be finished this week.

Thank you for reading and I hope you will come back.

Deborah Mitton

Thank you - For Your Support

If you wish to go to my WIP "Ten for the Devil" please click on the Blue title above.  or
www.wattpad.com/4361692 for the first Chapter or www.wattpad.com/5863630 for the last Chapter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the outpouring of support for my work.  I know that I'm just an aspiring writer but everyone has been extremely kind.  I have had approximately 2000 reads on the above mentioned work alone.  It is an awesome and humbling feeling at the same time.

I'm on Facebook, Twitter and Blogging with actual writers - with work published and they have been helpful with their suggestions and friendship.

*******
I'm at 47K words on my novel so far ...I will have to write another 90K before I finish everything I want to say.  A good copy editor will cut about 30K off it ...that's if I find a good one.

The difficult part is my mind is way ahead of my fingers ...on the second book "Seven for Secrets Never to Be Told.  So I'm going a little insane and talking to myself.  Hopefully I will snap out of it shortly and get back to actually typing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Sincerely - Deborah Mitton

Okay ...what did I do right? People are reading my Blogs...do they have no shame.

 Oh God ...I have to ask my self - self now you have to behave people are listening to you, reading you.  Self turned to me and said - Why in the hell do you want to do that?  You kow she right ...so what if a rant a little bit (more some day than others - today being one, sorry about that).  But I have finally arrived at a place where I do not care what others think of me...now my writing is a completely different thing.  I beg for reviews, for comments, for votes.  I log in ten times a day to check on my baby to make sure its loved and nurtured.

Okay some of you are wondering if I'm completely nuts and I have had 2 proffessional opinions that can tell you I am not.  Strange maybe, always interesting and most of the time loving.  So here I am warts and all.  Just a simple old broad that needs to get her roots done.  But if you want to read an honest thought I'm here.  If you need an ear I'm here.  If you need a hug ..mmm..that might be hard to do but I can send you paper ones with my heart attached.

You can join me here or on @deborahm13.twitter I would love to read your tweets in Tweeterville.

If you want to read my stuff on Wattpad that would be real nice too.  The beginning needs work but I think I'm improving as you read along.  Also I took the time to make you fall in like with my characters so it will take awhile to get to the juicy part...so shot me why don't you - if you don't like that.  What happened to powerful characters ...everyone on wants fast fry type character developement ...sorry that's not me.
Click the Blue "Ten for the Devil" to get to my book on Wattpad.  Thanks folks ttthhhaaattts all.

Rape of an Angel is still in the works

Good Day everyone.  Well this was a bad week for writing.  Pipe burst in the basement and I had to shut off the water.  Litres of the wet stuff everywhere...well the floors needed a good cleaning anyway - good excuse right.  So I started on my "To Do" List.  PS - noticed a problem months ago and mentioned it to hubby. 

Day 1

1. Call a plumber - check
2. Mop up water - check - took hours & yes I have a wet/dry vac, hubby was going to have it fixed 2 yrs ago - so I moped, moped, moped, swore, moped & swore some more. 
3. Remove everything water damage or decided I no longer wanted - made piles.

Day 2
1. Called plumber back - Are you coming?
 Husband forgot and turned water on.  Only a short time to water the flowers - he said.  We can not let the flowers die right!
3. Mop up water - I moped, moped, swore, moped, swore and moped.  Not as much as the previous day - so that's okay.
3. Behind in Twitter, Facebook & Gmail. Hours go by.  No writing completed yet.
  
Day 3
1. Called plumber ...Please are you coming??
2. Called another plumber  - 1Hour & 20 Min's. later ...I have water & wrote 500 words so far.  Still married - going on 41 years as of today - tomorrow may be another story however.

Rape of An Angel - Part 13

Hit the blue `Ten for the Devil`above to go to Wattpad to read my stories - it`s FREE!

Working on my next chapter of  "Ten for the Devil" - title comes from a line in a 1600's poem called a Murder of One.

This next chapter will be equally as dark (Rape of An Angel). Received a number of comments on "Black Communion" that the darkest has added greatly to the book.  I hope so as it was extremely difficult to write.

Also working on a short story for one of my other books "Why I Hate Rocking Chairs and Other Stories of the Paranormal".  Please do not ask me to change the title because I really like it.  The name of the story is RED FOG.  It`s a wolf story but not a werewolf story...sorry, but I think it is going to be a good one. 

I live on the Bay of Fundy which was one of the first places to be settled in North America unlike the many who thought the world started with the landing of the Mayflower.  The fog here is unbelievable, which is to say if you hold your arm out in front of you and you can not see your fingers due to the fog being as thick as pea soup...that`s a lightly foggy day.

Day 2 - Black Communion

Well it is day 2 of issuing part 12 titled "Black Communion" of my novel "Ten for the Devil" on Wattpad and I had almost 50 hits so far.  Great so far ... but I want more.  Yes it's true I'm being greedy - very greedy.  Come and read me ...tell me what you think of it.