Things I Learned from my Mom (on what would have been her 92nd birthday)

Today would have been my mom's 92nd birthday, and I thought i would look back at the 

Norma - one of her favorite photos

things that I learned from her. It also would have been my parents' 65th wedding anniversary, so I'll highlight some of my dad's influences, too. Read on! 

My mom, Norma G. (Tutela) Gutro was born in 1928. At age 85, passed quietly from this life on Sunday, December 29, 2013 at the Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Norma was born in East Boston and spent the majority of her life in Quincy. A devoted mother and homemaker, she was preceded in death by her loving husband of fifty-three years, Edward, also known as "Buddy," in 2008. 

Norma loved dogs, especially her late poodle, Gigi, and cocker spaniel, Penny. That's where I got my love of dogs - actually from both Mom and Dad. Of course, both mom and dad loved our kids, Dolly, Franklin, Tyler, and the late Sprite  (but mom and dad never met Dash, who came to us after mom passed). Dad never met Sprite on this side, but he was there at the Vet's office in Spirit when Sprite passed, and he let me know (you can read about it in my book "Pets and the Afterlife" on Amazon). Dad also never met Tyler, because we adopted him as a pup the year after Dad passed. 

Mom was an avid seamstress, making her own clothes, draperies and bedding and she made shirts and halloween costumes for me and Doug. She also painted Winnie the Pooh scenes on our bed sheets, so when you folded them over, you'd see the scene. 

She loved to draw and paint, and she taught me how to sketch as a kid. My dad bought me comic books and inspired me to read. Dad was never without a paperback novel in his hands, either, much like I am today. He loved to read, and since my mom always loved to make him wait a long time while she got ready to go out, or while shopping, he did a lot of reading. Together, their influence has carried forth in me today as I still read comic books and do sketches of ghosts when on paranormal investigations (sketches that have appeared in my books). As a kid, I used to write and draw my own comic books.  

Mom at NASA in a space capsule

Mom's other past times and interests included bowling, cooking and baking, gardening, playing cards, entertaining and taking long walks. 

Mom and Dad taught me how to bowl - and since we lived in Massachusetts, it was always "candlepin" bowling, and later we would do the duckpin bowling. 


Mom also taught me how to bake, and she and I would make and design cakes together. I still love to bake. As a 100% Italian, mom loved to cook, too. She used to tell me to watch her and learn, and I did. Even today, my favorite meal is pasta with my mom's homemade spaghetti sauce (which I make in a crockpot, instead of stirring it all day on a warm stove, as she did). 

Mom at the White House 

I didn't get the gardening gene, but fortunately, my hubby Tom has it. I used to love to play cards on Sunday nights with mom, dad and my brother Doug (and my grandma before she passed). Of course, I got the entertaining gene and love taking daily, long dog walks! 

Mom and dad also loved to ballroom dance and took many trips together, too. I took up country line dancing back in the 1990s and even won a few contests, and of course, Tom and I love to travel.

So, I learned a LOT from mom and dad, and think about them whenever I do any of these things. As a medium, mom and dad have both come through to me a lot, always letting me know they are around. In addition, Tom seems to like to channel my mom and says some of the crazy things she used to say!  So, our parents may no longer be with us in the physical world, but they're truly around in things we do and in spirit.