She’s Dancing Again

She introduced them- my parents

She met me when I was 8 months old

The oopsie baby who rolled over on her living room floor

I was 4 years old when she became Mom #2

At age 6- I spilled blackberry brandy in her purse

What a sticky mess

Beautiful blue eyes with a dark ring around the edges

She was sassy, smart, articulate, and feisty

5’ 2” who didn’t take crap

From anybody

Watching Dad and her dance was a thing of beauty

They loved to dance, they loved to laugh

They were always touching- connected in a way I’ve never seen

Every Sunday I woke to coffee & chocolate chip cookies

She was foxy, those hips in her turquoise bikini turned heads

Cherry Monte Carlo with a T-top- our hair blowing in the wind

We would sing like pop stars to Barry Manilow & Neil Diamond

She gave wise council

Shared life experiences

Had more energy than my Puerto Rican friends

She was fierce, she was fun

She let me drink wine on special and not so special occasions

Taylor Pink Catawba

Oh the parties, the friendships, the jokes

Laughter, always laughter

Everyone loved Hal & Ardena

They never judged

They always would lend a hand

An ear, a hug, a drink

They worked hard, they played hard, and they loved hard

Embraced all

Their home was a place of calm, freedom, honesty

She was an amazing cook- her Italian- AYYYYY

Her idea of fast food was a bucket of KFC

Pool parties

Cherry chocolate chip ice-cream out of the bucket- two spoons

She built her own home, yelled at contractors

Stomped her feet and gave them hell

She had three sons; Army Ranger, still born in Scotland, diabetic Scott who is gone

Now with her

She gave her time, her heart, her continuous support

Without pause

Her life experiences helped her to see angles no one else did

Her perspective was unique and different

No one else saw it until she did

Many times she was misunderstood

Her battle, her passions

But EVERYONE admired her grit, her moxy

Her fierce ability to never let go

I loved her, I will miss her, and I will mourn her

I’m grateful she’s pain free

And with the man she truly loved

She’s dancing again

Cutting up a rug- once again, reunited

In each other’s arms

 For Ardena B. Taylor (11/17/1939 – 4/20/2018)

 

Author: JJ Taylor

Many have shared that I am the strongest woman they know. I would disagree... when life kicks you in the teeth there is only one place to look and that is UP! I will be sharing my poetry, random thoughts, my hopes, my dreams, defining my strength and my faith. I'm honest, raw and real. I'm writing more for me, but perhaps someone will find my words that will help you in a profound way

6 thoughts on “She’s Dancing Again”

  1. I love this. I am so sad by the loss of her. However am so glad that when i was able to see her last time i was in Utah she made us lunch. With her amazing cooking. She was always able to whip up something great. She was so head strong and smart. I remember working on her papers against her home health company. She had to have perfection that was past perfection. Ha ha. I am so greatfull i met her. She was a blessing in so many ways.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Jeni, what you wrote is so beautiful and so exactly her! I’m so sad but at the same time, also happy, now they are back together! She told me many times she was ready, when it was her time, to be back with your dad and how much she missed him. I believe they are up there dancing and laughing together! She was an amazing, special lady and I will always be so thankful for her in my life, she helped me so much, many times, with her words of wisdom. Both your dad and her will always be in our hearts and memories! My husband loves them too, they touched his heart so much too. Know you’re in our heart and prayers for peace and comfort. Will there be a celebration of life for her? Love, your cousin Lori

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lori, my beautiful cousin that I cherish, she made it clear in person & in her will that she did not want a service for her life. It bothers me as we should celebrate and toast this incredible lady. 😕

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: