Happy Birthday Mom

Today is Mom’s birth­day.  She came into this world Nov 2, 1942 and would have turned 78 today.

Not a day has passed, over these sev­en months, where I don’t feel the deep sor­row and pain of los­ing her and Dad.  More so today when mark­ing an occa­sion that is nor­mal­ly a cause to gath­er and cel­e­brate with fam­i­ly.  This year, we will reflect on her life and how she lived it.  We will express our grat­i­tude to her for… every­thing and we will renew our prayers that her soul is at peace, walk­ing with Dad in one hand and God in her other.

After a dis­mal­ly wet and gloomy day yes­ter­day, the sun came out today and is cast­ing a shim­mer­ing land­scape of yel­lows, orange and reds.  Out­side, it is chilly and blus­tery — a per­fect­ly crisp Autumn day and a famil­iar set­ting as we cel­e­brate Mom’s birth­day each year.  At this time last year, we had gath­ered in Ver­mont and enjoyed the palette of Fall col­ors against an inspir­ing back­drop of moun­tains.  Mom seemed so hap­py being in the scenic out­doors fol­lowed by the warmth of din­ner with fam­i­ly at a cozy, rus­tic inn.  So much can change in a year and it is a bit­ter­sweet reminder to cher­ish the time we have.

Today, we cel­e­brate Mom on her birth­day and hold her dear­ly in our hearts and in our minds. Mom — may you rest in peace. We all miss you terribly.