For my twenty-first birthday, Mom and I had a girls’ night out in downtown Chicago. We got all dressed up—me in a gray double-breasted dress and Mom in a navy-blue dress that looked almost like mine.We started the evening at The Berghoff, one of the best restaurants downtown. Mom had once worked there as a waitress and bartender. That night, we celebrated with steak, lobster, and a couple of drinks before heading to the Chicago Theatre to see Frank Sinatra.We had great seats! When Sinatra finished singing “My Kind of Town,” Mom let out one of her famous whistles—and if you knew my mother, you knew that whistle.
Frank Sinatra heard it. He looked toward us, chuckled, and raised his glass to Mom!She stood there, completely caught up in the moment. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide under my seat—but secretly, I loved every second of it. I was already a Frank Sinatra fan, but after that night, I became an even bigger one.That evening, she wasn’t only my mom. She was my friend. We got dressed up, went out on the town, and had a damn good time.
It remains one of the best nights of my life—and a memory I will always cherish.

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Carson Pirie Scott
by Laura

Every time Carson’s sent out its coupons, Mom would call me. “Did you get your coupons? Did you see the one for 40% off?” And we would just laugh and laugh. And there we'd be, bebopping our way into Carson's like two kids in a candy store.We did this almost every Saturday for quite a while. It was our time together - Mom and I would go shopping and then have lunch. We talked about everything. We laughed and giggled like best friends—because that is what we were in those moments. It was more than mother-daughter time. It was two goofy girls enjoying an entire day together.Of course, the coupons were never as simple as they looked. There were always restrictions, and somehow, everything we wanted was excluded. That didn't stop us from walking out with bags upon bags though. After a while, it became our running joke. “I wonder how many coupons they’ll let us use today,” I would say. Usually, the answer was not very many, and still, we would laugh and laugh.The coupons were only the excuse. What mattered was having Saturday together: walking through the store, looking at everything, talking, laughing, and then sitting down for lunch.When we learned that Carson’s was closing, we went back one last time. Even then, we still couldn’t use our coupons the way we wanted. We laughed about it for the hundredth time, but the closing was bittersweet. We weren’t only losing a store. We were losing the place that had held one of our favorite memories.I would give anything to receive one more phone call from Mom asking, “Did you get your coupons?”

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The Kitchen Table
by Rikki and Mia

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Tortillas
by Michael

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Driving Test
by Tony

Ma was about eighty-nine when she had to take her driving test again. The day arrived in the middle of a typical Chicago winter. It was bitterly cold, the snow was blowing, and the angry Hulk was cutting right through us.
I said, “Ma, I don’t think we’re doing this today. We can always go another day.” but Ma said, “No. You know what? Let’s go.”
To her, it was exciting. It was challenging. It was an adventure—and it was also a chance to escape the house.
There she was, all dolled up and heading out into this terrible weather to take a driving test. The wind was whipping around her, and she looked at me and said, “I don’t know why I curled my hair, Tony. Look at this wind!”I told her, “You look nice anyway.
She took that driving test—and she passed! Afterward, I asked her what she wanted for breakfast. She spotted an IHOP, so that was where we went to celebrate.I couldn’t believe she had gone out in that weather, but Ma loved every minute of it. She was feeling the adrenaline. At nearly ninety years old, she was still brave, determined, and ready for her next adventure. I loved every minute too, because I was with her.She was one tough little cookie!

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Summers with Grandma Lu
by Rikki

Choosing just one memory of Grandma feels nearly impossible because spending long summers at her house was the best part of my childhood.Our days were filled with adventures. We shopped until we could have dropped...LITERALLY!! We ate at all the places Uncle Nick and I loved. Grandma and I had our hair done by Gladys. I played with Brandon in the backyard all the time. Maybe one of my favorites was when Grandma and I drove home after being out and about, she would crank up the radio and play all the music I liked.There was always something fun to do at Grandma Lu’s.In the mornings, I would walk into the kitchen and find her drinking coffee, watching the news, and “putting on her face” with a single curler sitting on top of her head. Even then, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.Grandma was strong and had the perfect amount of sass. She was beauty. She was grace. She was always perfectly poised, but she was also hilarious and knew how to have fun.She might start a game of football with a roll of toilet paper in the middle of a grocery-store aisle. She might dance around and act goofy at home or right out in public. Then, at the end of the day, she was warm and loving and always ready to snuggle on the couch while we watched Lifetime movies.She was the world’s best grandma.
Grandma was unforgettable and radiant—the kind of woman God must have taken a little extra time to create. She was a gift to this world and to everyone fortunate enough to know her.She was—and always will be—so special.I will miss her immensely, but the memories we made during those long summers at Grandma Lu’s will remain with me forever.

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Tía Lupe
by Lucy

Growing up, our families shared a building on Kolin. Our family lived upstairs and Tia Lupe rented the downstairs apartment, where she lived with her eight children.Because we were family—and because we were only a flight of stairs apart—our lives naturally blended together. We were always going back and forth between the two apartments. My mom made cookies upstairs, and the kids would come up to get some.We were cousins, but Tía never made us feel separate from her own children. She treated us as though we were her daughters too. We weren’t simply relatives living in the same building. We were one family.As we grew older, Tía and I often talked about my mom—her sister. Tía would laugh about their relationship and insist that she could outcook my mom when it came to certain foods. Still, she admitted that my mom made better beans, rice, and albondigas soup. No matter what happened between them, Tía always loved my mom.Our relationship continued throughout our adult lives. Tía always wanted to know that I was doing well. She asked about my job, checked in on me, and wanted to hear what was happening in my life. No matter how old I became, she still worried about me.Every Wednesday night, we watched Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med. The next day, we would talk about what happened and whether we liked the episodes.Her laughter was infectious, and her strength was extraordinary. I will always admire the way she faced life—with courage, love, and concern for her family.Rest in peace, Tía. Thank you for your unconditional love, your support, and all your words of wisdom and encouragement.I will miss you immensely. Please give my parents my love.

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