15 COCO IS FURIOUS

Gram always told us than when Godiva made her ride, not as some nubile woman on a romp, but as a mature woman ….and none of the townspeople looked upon her. So far I’ve only found pictures and statues that make her look like Venus. Take a look at the statue in the center of Coventry.

You and I, my dear, are not young women anymore…and neither was Godiva. She could be about 45-65 when this ride happened. Ok, 45 is still young. 55 is still young. 60 is the new 30…but she wasn’t the sexy thing that people have made her be. Ageism is nothing new. Nor is the sexualization of women. She was taking a stand as a strong woman!

Well, I have some answers to those questions and more. I told you about Gram’s dementia. She was crying about Nazis and invaders and dead children and tunnels. She was sure “they were out there.” Mom couldn’t handle it. She would find Gram at 2 am, yelling at people to “leave and never come back.”

Last year she had to move into a unit in the nursing home. It was a bit of a fiasco. My mother required I go and help her (this while I was in the middle of a huge advertising campaign for a pharmaceutical company). My son David insisted I go for multiple reasons I’ll share at another time. My daughter Coco wanted to go, but couldn’t. More on that later. She is furious with me right now. She’s in college. We butt heads. It’s typical. Oh well. You understand; you have daughters too.

So I went. And discovered what had been hidden in that home for ten centuries!

I have a collection of her things. All are in Latin and it’s going to take me some time to translate them. Yes, I can do it…I actually have my undergrad in Latin and Ancient Languages at Oxford and an MBA in International Marketing from the University of Chicago. (That's how I met your sister.) It comes in handy when it’s time to name pharmaceuticals.

Things in my life are a bit crazy right now with work, my husband, and kids…but perhaps this will be helpful to both of us.

I thought about this long and hard. I believe that you and others deserve to hear her story. First, let me know if you’re “in.” Coco is furious and is fighting me on this…she thinks it’s a private matter. But I disagree. I find it helpful to share things with other women, and I think that’s what Godiva was all about too.

I’m on the ride of my life! Want to join me?

Gotta go! Write back!

Edy