As Toni McEnroe gets ready to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, the 92-year-old is looking back on the joys of raising three children and her happiness from interacting with her 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
On Sunday, May 9, McEnroe, who lives at Senior Star at Wexford Place, will take part in a combination of several family birthday celebrations, a housewarming party and, of course, Mother’s Day with her extended family. For her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, this is a special day for remembering the important ways she changed, and brightened their lives.
Toni McEnroe, and one of the memory boxes she created for her family.
About 20 years ago, McEnroe’s daughter asked her if she could speak to her oldest grandchild who was 14 at the time, about her bad attitude. McEnroe thought it over and decided there were more subtle and lasting ways to communicate with a teenager by using stories and quotes. She soon found an impactful and non-confrontational way to present advice for her granddaughter.
“I was an elementary school librarian for 14 years,” McEnroe said. “Advice and evidence are everywhere if you look for it. It all starts with attitude. Choices show consequences. Forgiveness and service open doors. We all need hope and patience.”
She didn’t realize that her handwritten words of wisdom that she had found would be the first of hundreds of ‘Notes from Gammie’ that she would send to her grandchildren over the years to boost their self-confidence and create happiness for them.
She collected memorable quotes and stories from newspapers, magazines and inspirational books that focused on 12 topics that included attitude, perseverance, patience, life choices and service to others.
McEnroe believes positivity and good choices should be taught as soon as a child is born, and as a parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent, that job never ends.
She decided to create memory boxes for her grandchildren and personalized each one with a cover photo that captured a special aspect of that grandchild’s personality. The grandkids were encouraged to add their own personal memorabilia. The boxes also served as repositories for the notes their grandmother sent them over the years.
“The letters were a great opportunity to know each other and become closer,” McEnroe said.
Although the family’s gatherings were extremely limited during the pandemic, they kept in touch with texts, videos and Facetime. McEnroe said the same collective wisdom she shared with her now grown grandchildren is what sustained her through the challenges of separation from friends and family during COVID-19.
Her grandchildren treasure their special keepsakes. McEnroe’s granddaughter, Samantha Newman said, “It made me know she was thinking of me and paying attention to what was going on in my life.”
The notes and books that her grandmother sent her over the years focused on the subject of kindness and Newman said those memories will always stay with her.
“My favorite memories of being with her are camping, sports, reading to my classes through grade school, celebrating New Year’s Eve, and always being present,” Newman said.
Her memory box contains all the letters from her grandmother and the greeting cards that her grandparents sent her, including little notes from her grandfather.
The pandemic limited their time to interact, but they Facetimed frequently. “We visited in the courtyard, 10 feet apart, participated in a car parade, although it was hard with a new baby in the car and Gammie couldn’t see or hold him,” Newman said.
Newman plans to use her grandmother’s positive reinforcement on kindness and good life choices with her children and future grandchildren.
“Gammie is a constant pillar in our large and growing family,” Newman said. “We all admire and look to the family she and Papa created for inspiration and guidance in raising our own families. This Mother’s Day, I just want her to know how important she is, how blessed we are with the memories of her and Papa and how their example of faith in God is truly foundational to all that we are today, and what we strive for in our own families.”
McEnroe’s greatest reward from sending her loved ones special notes and letters over the years is watching their kindness and positivity in action.
“This was one of the greatest ideas for having a meaningful legacy,” McEnroe said. “I am so proud of each one of them for what they have accomplished and what they will do in the future.”