April 7: Mom’s 56th birthday is today. It’s the first birthday she’s ever skipped in her whole life. And it feels weird. A real reminder that she’s not here with us anymore. Instead of feeling sad (which is pretty easy to do), I’ve been trying to think of using her birthday as an opportunity to celebrate Mom. So family members who are here in Madison are going out to dinner tonight at the Mariner’s Inn. I think I’ll order lobster. It’s Mom’s favorite. And mine:)
I also thought that Mom would probably really enjoy it if I got her grandkids some cute clothes to celebrate her birthday. Unfortunately, shopping with the two little ones is a little beyond my abilities today, so maybe a belated birthday present, Mom.
I did make a birthday present for Mom. And since she’s not here to give it to, I thought I’d share it with you. Mom really enjoyed poetry. She had lots of poems memorized, and when I went through her papers, I was surprised at the number of poems and beautiful prose that I found copied out in her lovely handwriting.
I pulled together a set of poems that either I know Mom enjoyed or I think she would enjoy. You can find them here. I hope they make you smile and perhaps breathe more deeply for a moment and think for a moment about what a wonderful world we all live in.
Althea, Bryan, Andrew, and Sylvia