Happy Birthday Mom

Happy 78th birthday Mom! I wish I could spend it with you. I have been thinking about you and Dad a lot lately - probably because of your birthdays. I miss knowing that somebody is always concerned about you. I know if you were still alive, you would be saying "are you working too hard" or "are you getting enough rest" or "you should do something nice for yourself". I don't have you here to say those things to me and I am not very good at saying them to myself. As a result, I don't think I take care of myself as well as I should.

I looked forward to visiting you and Dad because I knew that the entire time I was there you would tell me to sit down and rest or go visit my friends. As a mother, I realize how much you care that your children are doing well. I miss our long shopping trips that culminated in lunch out and then resting in the afternoon and talking. I miss our discussing family history long into the night. I remember that year I came home and you just didn't have the energy to do much shopping. It was the beginning of your health deteriorating and it was hard to witness. In the few years before your death, I remember that we would end up just doing lunch and not much else because you didn't have the energy. We still spent lots of time talking, but not much time shopping. I'm not much of a shopper now, but I loved those trips with you. When Casey comes home in March, her and I plan to take a shopping trip and go out to lunch. I love doing this with her and hope that she enjoys it as well. Now that Mom is gone, I wish I had made more trips to Columbus and spent more time shopping with her. I love you Mom and miss you terribly. There is still such a void in my heart without you and Dad.