Ruby Tuesday

"Ruby Tuesday" is a place for friends and family to share stories about my mother and show how she has impacted their lives. For quite some time, I maintained a weekly blog called, "Ruby Tuesday" with new stories every Tuesday. Late in her life, my mother suffered from memory issues and I wanted to create a place online where people could share stories about her incredible life. I shared some stories with Humans of New York and they did a great job covering her story which you can see at the bottom of the page. For the full collection of posts, please click here.

The Slides on Ruby’s Dresser

Yesterday marked two years since my mom, Ruby left us and I wanted to share a story: A few months after my mom passed away in 2023, Simone and I flew to Syracuse like we usually do, but this trip was different. My mom had been sick for over a decade, but this was the first time we were there since she was gone. On this trip to Syracuse, one of the things we wanted to take care of while we were in town was to clean out my mom’s closets and her dresser. My Mom’s sister, my Aunt Vicenta made the trip from Brampton, Ontario to help. We knew this kind of thing would be so difficult to do by ourselves, but if we did it together, we could lean on and comfort each other.

As we sorted through her clothes, we recalled stories and shared memories, talking about her colorful sense of style and playful nature. But the most surprising thing we found was a little blue cloth bag with pink flowers on her dresser filled with slides from over 50 years ago that we all hadn’t seen. Because they were just slides, we had to hold them up to the light to see them and it wasn’t easy to make out all the details, but by holding them up to the light at just the right angle, each slide came into focus and hearing my Dad talk about these moments was a gift. 

One of the slides was from the time my Dad took her to the Marine Corps ball in Trinidad, it was only their third date! Another was from the day my parents got engaged. There was even one when my parents took my oldest brother, Mark, to Trinidad at two years old. In that one my Aunt who was only about 10 years old at the time is wearing a dress that my mom bought for her back in 1969. My mom loved to dress up her baby sister or “her little papoose”,  as she would call her. 
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We couldn’t believe that we found such a treasure and because we were together, it amplified the feeling because we were able to look back at these vibrant moments from my mom’s life when we needed it most. They say some people can light up a room, but my mom could light up a whole city. She made a beautiful mark on this world and will be forever grateful that she was my mom. ❤️

By Matt Adams

A young girl in a green dress with a tiara sitting at a table during a celebration or party.
A man and woman at a gathering, holding drinks and smiling at each other, with another person in the background.
Two women standing in front of a flower garden with pink and purple flowers, trees, and a few palm trees in the background.
A young man sitting outdoors on a step with a dog lying beside him, in front of a white door and a wall with peeling paint.
A woman with dark hair, wearing a striped shirt, standing next to a vintage blue car.
A man in a military uniform and a woman are kissing at a table with drinks in a dimly lit setting.
Two children, a girl in a floral dress and a boy with sunglasses, are holding a raccoon on a leash outside near a screened porch.
Three kids sitting on a large tree branch outdoors in a park with grass and trees in the background.
Two women and a small child standing on a grassy area in a park with trees in the background.
Woman and young girl standing on sidewalk next to a fence with a dog in front of them.
A young child walking on a sidewalk next to a large palm tree with purple-tinted fronds.
Young girl with short black hair smiling, sitting outdoors near a window with a light-colored wall in the background.