Fortress

Sometimes, God sees fit to place us, from birth, in the care of a mother who will spend the rest of her days mastering the skill of motherhood. These mothers, they never stop learning, all the while, they teach and perpetually apply a lifetime of lessons. Then, as life meanders speedily along, and it takes us wherever we may roam, these mothers, they are somehow always right where we need them to be. They are steady. They are strong. They are safe. They are immense, while remaining the softest place to land. They are bold. They are patient. They bite their tongues long enough for us to learn our own way. They have our backs just because we ask them to. They hurt for us more than we do. They worry for us more than we do. And as we travel through the ups and downs, they are always there for us, they are our fortress.

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A tribute to: Vivian C. (Lapointe) Kotowski

HOOKSETT — Vivian C. (Lapointe) Kotowski, 83, of Hooksett, died March 30, 2017 at Maple Leaf Health-Care Center in Manchester after a brief illness. She was born in Manchester on February 27, 1934 to Arthur and Gilberte (Cote) Lapointe. She lived in Manchester for many years before moving to Hooksett in 1977.

Vivian worked at a number of places over the years, most recently at Hannaford Supermarket in Hooksett.

She was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Hooksett and the NH Chapter of the Association of Retirees of Eversource and Northeast Utilities (ARENU).

The family includes her husband of 59 years, Frank R. Kotowski of Hooksett; three children, Lori Uliasz and her husband, Gregory, of Bedford, James Kotowski and his wife, Vicki Montgomery, of Floyds Knobs, IN and Susan Beal of Manchester; seven grandchildren who were her world, Meghan Uliasz and her fiancé, Tom Stackhouse, Greg Uliasz, Zack Uliasz, Stephen, Ryan and Erin Beal and Lydia Kotowski; a sister Gertrude Burke of Manchester; and nieces and nephews.

SERVICES: There are no calling hours. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church, 21 Main St., Hooksett. Committal prayers will follow in the chapel of the NH State Veterans Cemetery, 110 Daniel Webster Highway, Boscawen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hooksett Kiwanis Kids Closet, c/o Hooksett Kiwanis Foundation, P.O. Box 16443, Hooksett, NH 03106.

Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, Manchester is assisting the family with arrangements. To leave a message of condolence, visit www. lambertfuneralhome.com.

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Where are you, when you’re here?

Be present here.

Be present now. 

There In Every Show

TSO in Manchester, NH 2014

 

I guess we could detach ourselves and say, to each, their own

Then isn’t it the folks furthest removed that cast the first stone

 

To obsess on anything is not the answer, even for one who rants

To me, it’s unhealthy and obvious that one has lost their balance

 

Then there’s life altering events as in the one’s we cannot control

Still others exist when we decide again to make ourselves whole

 

Maybe the choice we made, inspired from a place we least expected

At a show we checked out, message received, we’re truly affected

 

But we all enter the doors from a different place, and intent is key

For we all hear, but to listen is a big difference if you ask me

 

Like the sower of seeds pursues the grounds soft, apt to receive

Our mindset at times needs a gentle push to better perceive

 

I, for one, sit quietly, anxious, like one waiting for Christmas Day

Then I close my eyes renewing my senses as they begin to play

 

I could be wrong but I feel like there is something special in the air

There’s most definitely a message to discern, I’m keenly aware

 

But were my heart hardened and I not to listen, present just to hear

Then maybe it’d be just another show, another band, another year

 

The message, I needed to hear it when I first did, enthralled, I froze

From the stage to my balcony, those sweet sounds, they rose

TSO in Manchester, NH 2014

 

 

The Christmas spirit, the words of love, melted the chill I sought

The musical symmetry overwhelmed my senses though I fought

 

I shuttered from the war within, I left “somehow different I think”

Learning later that this group, was in some ways, my missing link

 

Then it was up to me to model the meanings I had run so far from

Now I attend in part as a reminder to me from how far I have come

 

The shows still move me, sounds divine, I escape, and intently I listen

The snow comes down and through the lights the flakes do glisten

 

Using words that recently sparked a deluge of commentary, I found

That there are far worse folks by whom we could choose to surround

 

So we are drawn in by the message heard and portrayed for us to see

Ideals, defined as a standard of perfection; God, family, country, me

 

It’s all there in every show, God in message, family in every single row

Country honored before and during, just ask Chris, he would know

 

But it’s equally important not to leave out us, the me, the we, the you,

A happy me, a whole me, is better than before TSO passed through

 

So, yes I went to see them again this tour, Lord willing I’ll go again

As for planning each tour, it’s not if, but really, it’s a matter of when

 

Until then I will listen, I will share, I will enjoy, but I will not obsess

Rather I will puff up with pride in the places we TSO fans coalesce

TSO in Manchester, NH 2014