Remembering my mother Aurelia Caragiu

 

Aurelia Caragiu (11/27/1932 - 2/2/2022), quick notes to self, thinking about the early years:

In grade school, she taught me calligraphy, encouraged me to write summaries (I liked that, so I moved on recursively, writing summaries of summaries and so on in a convergent process to the essential - if any), bought me popular Science books on Christmas, pretended not to notice that I stole some old physical chemistry textbooks from the cellar - writing summaries in the fashionable student notebooks that I loved, but most importantly she progressively pretty much allowed me to do whatever I wanted (including me going with other kids in the neighborhood to walk in the park, play football, or catch tiny fish in the central lake - even if that resulted in some cuts on my feet). 

 

Her letting me go was an act of both love, pragmatism, and sacrifice since I was not the only child and the others had really pressing needs at times (about that, later - anyway it could have gotten really complicated). 

 

In the middle school, again, she gave me lots of freedom - and I greedily took it all - so I went to various clubs, museums, movies, walks, stayed late in the municipal library, etc. There was no turning back, but her love and sacrifice for all of us will not be forgotten. In a sense I am still processing this at a deeper level.

Meet the favorite singer of Aurelia (my mother) - Amalia Rodrigues

Amalia Rodrigues was my mother's favorite singer (here in 1968 in Bucharest, Romania!)

Aurelia Caragiu (born Aurelia Tomoiu) 1932 - 2022 Love and Sacrifice

MAMA - Aurelia Caragiu (born Aurelia Tomoiu) my mother lived a full life marked by love and sacrifice. She died in the same spirit of empathy that encompasses everything in its embrace. 

Memories matter, because believe it or not that's all we have (and I refuse to talk about anything else, here I am a hard constructivist), the only problem is in putting in an adequate effort to access said memories (but it's worth it). 

My mother was a respected Chemistry teacher at Teleajen Oil Industrial High School near Ploiesti (where she brutally but so resiliently commuted for many years, every day, rain or shine, snow or storm, with two buses). She taught me to write, asked me to make summaries of the materials that I was reading (so that I could eventually focus better), facilitated, through her textbooks or other nonfiction books, my first scientific explorations (even now I remember how passionate I was about my readings on Electrolysis from her textbooks when herself was a school student - those I found in the attic and of course she approved those readings once she found my secret, and how much I loved the books "Fun Physics" by Ia. I. Perelman, "Physics in Everyday Life" by E. Aisberg, "Fun Biology" by Igor Akimuskin, "Fun Botanic" by Tudor Opris, "One, Two, Three...Infinity" by George Gamow, and others that she bought for me). She also bought me big-sized student notebooks, in which I was supposed to write everything I was thinking about. She was an efficient facilitator in my early school years, giving me everything she had, especially trust, when I needed it most. 

RIP mom! You will never be forgotten.