I began this personal blog as a response to reaching the age at which my mother was diagnosed with, and later died from, ALS. She passed at 51.
Today is my 56th birthday.
Fifty-six isn't a milestone birthday, but my brain is always, always looking for connections, for patterns, for significance. It settled on the five year difference between my mother's death-age and my current birthday.
What have I experienced in the last five years?
My son's graduation from high school and college. His traumatic, but necessary, major jaw surgery.
My daughter's time in Japan introducing us to an amazing, beautiful culture. Her marriage and return to the United States.
Five successful years as a librarian, and a transfer back to my neighborhood school.
Five years of blogging about reading, information literacy and book fairs; personal musings, personal failures, and politics.
Participating in and chairing a Texas Library Association committee.
A celebration of thirty years of marriage to my awesome husband.
Raising and releasing monarch butterflies.
Birdwatching in my backyard.
Roadtrips to Denton and through the Hill Country.
Losing good friends too soon, and gaining new friends.
A global pandemic.
What did my mother miss in the five years after her death?
Tornados spotted over our neighborhood, my miscarriage at the same time.
The birth of her grandson, and two of his three thumb surgeries.
Her granddaughter going to kindergarten, and their shared birthday celebrations.
Her grandson going to preschool, and her granddaughter's brief hospital stay.
The crocheted work I made with just a small portion of her yarn stash.
My work in the NICU, and my transition back to education as an ARD facilitator.
The celebration of our tenth wedding anniversary.
Holiday gatherings; the tables I set with her good china, her recipes I attempted to replicate.
More time with her own parents, who outlived her by more than a decade, and her brother.
Family beach trips, and road trips to El Paso, Ohio, Florida.
The times I desperately needed her advice, needed to hear her voice.
I loved reading about the past five years of your life. Then I got to the part about what your mom has missed in that same amount of time and it made me well up with tears. That final line especially. We need our moms well into our adulthood for so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stacey. I still feel her near, when a line hits in a song, or a scent from the kitchen is familiar...
DeleteArgh! I hit "publish" too soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat I also wanted to say is HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know this blog was a response to reaching an age your mom didn't. I know you're five years past that. I hope you have many more years of good health and happiness, Christine.
Thank you! It was a good birthday. I have learned to cherish each one as it comes!
DeleteHappy Birthday, what a great way to reflect on the past 5 years.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! Your reflection on what you experienced and what your mom missed was thought and emotion evoking.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Written from your heart. Thank you for doing this. Love Ya, Dad.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! What a poignant beginning to a blog, such a source of inspiration, always, I am sure. These reflections are very touching - I am welled up with tears. Life is precious.
ReplyDelete