This lovely lady is my Mama. On July 28th, she turns 90. If she knew I was publishing this to the world, she would kick my butt, because she has always wanted to keep her age a secret. Unlike her daughter, who is totally amazed that she is now in her 60's, I am proud of my age and that I have lived long enough to say so. Maybe, it's a generational thing...I don't know.
We will be celebrating quietly per her request with no billboards, no wild party with champagne, and no hoards of people, well...maybe some champagne. Of late, she seems to be occupied with end of life thoughts - that she may not have much time left. When she brings it up, I try to make light of it, but I often think, "what will my thoughts be, if I live to be 90"? Will I be obsessed about what my last days will be like? Will I be healthy? Will I be sick? Will I have regrets?
When I think of what she has seen in her lifetime, it boggles my mind. From the poverty of the 20's to the craziness of the 21st century and everything in between, it's hard to imagine. How do you process it all and make sense of it all? To think of the history of the last 90 years just makes my head spin.
My Mama and I have had our fair share of ups and downs, but we managed to work through it all and become best of friends. I am so grateful that I have had 60+ years with this lady. We are so very different, but yet in some ways so alike. She has taught me more than she knows. She deserves the happiest of birthdays and many more.
Happy Birthday to my beautiful mother!
Love always...your daughter.
Well, most of my followers now know that my original Musings From the Hammock disappeared entirely when Posterous went to Cyberspace Hell and took all of my posts from the last 3 years with it. The blog, started in 2010, was my dumping ground for many critical events in my life. I posted a lot about my father's descent into the world of dementia and his eventual death, crazy events in my life, my short-lived stay in Florida, and the demise of the relationship that went with it. On occasion, I would go back and read those posts, and put myself through some of the residual heartburn that I felt while writing them. Now, they are all gone and I have no way to dredge up those uncomfortable feelings. How interesting!
While I lamented the loss of my writings, and swore I would never write again (because, let's face it...I really consider myself a hack...and that's OK), friends encouraged me to keep at it. When I really thought about it, I thought, maybe this happened for a reason and I needed to get past these things in my life and start fresh.
So, I'm back and I thank you, my friends who prodded me to start again.
