Mom's birthday

Today is my Mom's birthday. She would have been 63 today, but she died last year in late September. It's almost been a year without her now. On her birthday she loved to eat birthday cake. She'd take a little piece and eat it and then say, "I just had a little piece, so I'll just get another." I think the cake was the thing she wanted the most and she wouldn't mind eating out or having something grilled, but you better not forget the cake.

Last year she didn't eat much cake and my Dad got her some food from one of her favorite restaurants because by then she was too sick to go out and eat. The last couple of months of her life she had been eating as much red velvet cake as she could hold down. She always loved sweet things. The chemo and radiation made it hard at times, but it was one of the last things she could still enjoy. One of her last good meals was probably her birthday meal. She ate a bit for their anniversary, which is September 18, and after that she didn't eat much at all.

I remember on her 40th birthday she accidentally locked herself out of the house. She had to wait until I got home for me to let her in. This of course was before everyone had cell phones. She said it was one of her worst birthdays. She carried a key with her at all times after that. She pinned it to her bra and she made sure she was never locked out again.

I would have definitely called her today. We spent hours and hours on the phone because for about decade now I've lived at least 10 hours or more from Louisiana. Too bad there are no telephones in Heaven.

Happy Birthday Mama.