Yesterday was My Birthday

My brother was nice enough to leave links to the books I wrote about yesterday and to note I had not mentioned my own birthday. I twittered it, I facebooked it, but I forgot to blog it. It was a beautiful sunshiny day most of the day as I hit 62. I really wanted to call Mom, so mentally, I did, and I try to think of what she was doing at my same age. I realized how young she was when she lost her own mother, my dear Mammie. Mammie was 72 so I think Mom was 41. I never knew from my aunt and my Mom what a grievous hole it leaves in your psyche when your mother passes from this life. They never mentioned it. They were from a more stoic generation, the great generation. Here I am rambling. Did you ever notice how glamorous the young women of the 40's were? They looked like movie stars in their hand tinted portraits. Here I am, 62, in relatively good health, especially now that the pounds are falling away and Mom had already had a heart attack. Her life was so hard and she smoked for many many years. She reared 6 children and worked many many physically demanding jobs in her time. Had she already broken both ankles? Had she already had bladder cancer? When did the diabetes rear its head? There was the quadruple bypass. I often think of her asleep on a bench in the sun on one of her last trips to KY because her heart was only beating 35 beats a minute and she was traveling against oldest daughter's orders I might add. Orders from me were a challenge to her! She says I shouldn't do it, so here I go! That was Mom. A trooper woke her up and sent her on her way, she completed that defiant trip, returned with injuries and had to spend time in the hospital and the nursing home for one week to get back on her feet. Oops Rick, this wasn't the happy birthday mention you wanted probably, but my mind always goes to mom on my birthday, because she gave it to me. I now await the birth of my 5th grandchild and look forward to giving him the attention I have given his brother.
My daughters had to teach me what a hilariously fun grandma she was to them and I hope to my son also, though he doesn't mention it. She adored him completely.