91...........

She would have been 91.


Shhh..... don't tell anyone.
She wouldn't have liked that.
In fact, she would beat you with her slipper!

Today is my mother's birthday.
She would have been 91.
Instead, she remains 39 + 14 years experience.
We should all be so lucky.
To never age.
She will always remain......53.

Funny, now that I'm 51, I realize how young she was.
I've got more than two more years of living to do.....
I know she did too.


My mother was one of those older moms.
She didn't marry until later in life.....at the ripe old age of 38
She had me when she was teetering on 40.
After me, she went on to have my sisters....

Each year, when June 13th rolls around, I pause to sing to her.
I'm not a very good singer.
But I know it's a song she loves to hear.
After all, who wouldn't want to hear their child's voice?
That's what I'm banking on....

It's funny how when you lose your mother, your life changes.
You become a very different person.
Forever.
You are a motherless daughter.
Forever.
No pain will ever compare.
It's not an easy place to be.
You never cry over the other stuff.
You become tougher than that.
Because you are a motherless daughter.

As the years go by, you accept it.
And, soon, you become the authority on it.
Considering I've been doing it for 37 years....I'm an expert.
You run to the side of anyone who loses their mother.
You tell them how to deal with it.
Even if you have no idea how to do it.
You say comforting words.
And, you try to explain how the years will ease the pain.
Which it will.
But, what you don't tell them is that there will be days that bring you to your knees.
Like today.
These are the days that you need to dig deep.

That's just what I am doing today.
And, what I found was a reason to smile.

My mother's jock strap coasters.
The ones we found in the green cabinet in the basement.
In a Gimbel's gift box labeled....in her own writing.....FOR MY HIGH BALLS.





Happy Birthday Mommy!
You definitely had HIGH BALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!