Today is Mother’s Day. Until her passing in 2010, we celebrated the day with my sweet mother-in-law, Opal, as it often fell on her birthday. My mother was totally fine with celebrating the day together exactly one week later. After they were both gone, C and I decided the day really didn’t feel the same without them. For many years, it was just another Sunday.
Last year, to my great surprise and delight, Katie invited me to spend the day with her. We had a lovely breakfast and leisurely shopped the stores of West Side Provisions and environs. I bought a $9.00(!) dress at Anthropologie. Totally unexpected, fits me perfectly and I have worn it many times. Plus the day was FUN!
Today I had invited the Gkids to lunch here but plans fell through at the very last minute due to health issues. I wound up spending the day alone which I really didn't mind but what to do with the elaborate meal I had prepared for them? Couldn’t find anyone who was available for a last minute meal on Mother’s Day so I put the whole thing in the freezer and made plans for the following weekend.
This afternoon, i received a phone call from a dear friend whose wife, Jean, was battling brain cancer. I thought he was calling to give me an update as she had found it difficult to talk on the phone the month before. He called, instead, to tell me that she had passed away a few days before. I was devastated, she was the closet thing I had to a sister, we were so closely aligned in every way. And our husbands were, too! Here’s part of my letter to Larry:
“Words can't convey how Charlie and I felt about you two. We loved you both, we loved spending time with you, we loved our conversations, our dinners together, our walks/hikes, laughing, birding together. Remember the boat ride in the company of dolphins swimming along side us for the whole distance? It was magical and the euforia it created will stay with me forever. Truly happy times with two of our favorite people on earth!”
I cried and sobbed and wailed until I gave myself a raging headache. The day was a disaster and I wished with all my heart that it had been just another boring quiet Sunday.
But then, I received this sweet photo accompanied by a thank you note for chalk I had given to an exercise friend as a gag/housewarming gift.
