Here Comes Milly

Milly arrives in Chicagoland on Friday afternoon for a three or four month visit, depending how it goes and how she feels. Milly is remarkable. The mother of three daughters, she was a stay-at-home mom for several years, then answered the call and returned to work in the medical field before throwing in the towel and finally retiring. The grandmother of eight, Milly volunteers at two hospitals near her home, and serves as an election judge as well.

Always a real go-getter, in an earlier life Milly made dill pickles and canned green beans, tomatoes and beets, in separate jars, not all thrown together. In those days. canning was something many did as a way of preserving the harvest through the winter, and keeping the costs down as well. Though canning involved a pressure cooker, glass jars, wax and loads of patience, Milly ended up with high quality food that always "sealed." To those eating the canned goods, a "good seal" meant they would live one more day without botulism.

Food preparation wasn't all she did. Milly also knew her way around a sewing machine and made draperies and slip covered furniture when it started to look a little worn or she decided a new color was in order. No project was too big for Milly, and just last year she decided to re-upholster her family room sofa. Through the years Milly has traveled a bit, owning a second home on the Florida east coast, a few summer homes in the northern states, and the main home in a large city in the Midwest. Soon Milly will be visiting with her family in Chicagoland.

Friday afternoon Milly will arrive at my home for an extended holiday visit. The guest room has been redecorated in shades of blue and green, the armoire cleared, and new wooden hangers are empty in the closet, awaiting her clothes. Though she repeatedly said "don't get anything different for me," new Pottery Barn towels hang in the bathroom, and fresh vegetables and fruits have been washed and placed in the refrigerator. Milly arrives in Chicagoland on Friday afternoon and her daughter can't wait for her to get here.