I just want to thank you all for your kind birthday wishes today! (I’m marking another anniversary of my 29th birthday today.)
It’s kind of an “different” birthday for me.
My Mom died a year ago yesterday, so last year’s birthday and Christmas were nothing to celebrate. In fact the whole month of December was pretty awful as we could not get her “placed” until December 22. (There was, and probably still is, a back-up of funerals at Arlington National Cemetery because of the warfronts.) The rest of the year was “strange” as well because I had been looking after Mom for several years, and had so many helpers and caregivers around, that I had forgotten how to live by myself. And I have really, really, missed my Mom …
I’m starting to remember how, now.
Of course it helps that I have a good roommate that I like, even if she works different hours from me, so we don’t see each other much. And, I have some good friends and caring family.
Yesterday, my brother Bill and I paid a visit to Arlington.
It was ok. It was sad. But it was ok. The day was overcast and chilly. But, as I remarked to my cousin Diane, our parents are still there…and they are not going anywhere. (Strange the way we think of death sometimes.) They have a great view of the Pentagon. Which they like, I’m sure. It must be interesting to watch the goings-on in possibly the world’s busiest building.
Oddly, after yesterday, I feel like I can go forward now. Today – my birthday – is the first day of the rest of my life.
I don’t have my whole life ahead of me, but I hope I have a fair amount of time. There’s a lot I want to do.
We’re always being advised these days to slow down, relax and don’t get too stressed out. The advice on not getting too stressed out is good, because too much stress can blow a fuse in your plans … but I don’t necessarily want to slow down. Life is short (Eat desert first) and I don’t want to look back on past birthdays ten years from now and wish I had made more effort on certain things.
Like keeping in touch with people and thanking them for thinking of me …
Thanks again for your happy birthday wishes!
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I know you have had a hard time this past year, but you have grown in so many ways. You are not my little cousin anymore: you are a strong, beautiful, woman. I love you very much and think of you all the time. Your favorite (and only) FIRSTEST cousin, Diane