To my mom…
And the beautiful woman that she was.
To my mom, the woman who raised me, the woman who lived so freely with no inhibitions. To the woman that sang ‘Psycho Killer’ at the top of her lungs and had Beatles lyrics tattooed on her arms. To the woman who enjoyed a fresh glass of wine with a luscious cherry cigar on a beautiful sunny day. She loved as freely as she lived, ever passionate about music, nature, and dogs.
We always had dogs growing up but, she wasn’t allowed to have dogs where she stayed, so she visited dog parks and adopted two beautiful cats that she loved so much, Mr. Pickles and Miss Moon Shadow (I now care for these cats and love them with all of my heart). They are beautiful, wild, and loving just as she was.
Every fall she would drag us on hikes through the ledges, splashing through each water crossing with pure joy, exploring every path possible. I would give anything to splash through those waters with her one more time.
She was so intelligent and the funniest woman you would ever meet. She always saved world jumbles for me from her daily newspaper, and of course, cut out clippings of places she wanted to visit. She brought joy and laughter to everyone she met, you could always count on her for a crude hilarious joke or an update on the world. Her love for Stephen King follows her as I kept every book of his she ever read (trust me, there’s a lot!).
I will never forget my mom, she meant and means so much to me. Who will I share podcast stories with? We spoke every weekend on the phone for hours giggling about different Wine and Crime podcasts and sharing ridiculous stories about men (we all know how they can be) or about work and life in general (trust me the bitch-fests were real, on both sides). It is so difficult to sum up my mother in one small story, she was so spectacular I can’t put it into words. She was the kind of woman you wished you could be.
She never had a chance to see my brother or I get married, she didn’t have a chance to meet my dogs or her future grandkids or see the people we will become.
She shaped me in a way that she will never understand, she made me stronger, and she taught me how to be a fighter and put up with the bullshit (quite frankly), I will always be grateful for that. We had an inside joke between us, we would call each other “boss ass bitches” after the song “I’m a boss ass bitch” by Nicki Minaj, ridiculous, I know, but she truly was a boss ass bitch!
Every single day something happens that I wish I could tell her about, every single day I wish I could talk to her and share my stories with her as she shared her stories with me. What is a young woman without her mother? Lost…I can tell you that.
I love you, mom, so much. I will never forget you, I say good morning to you and goodnight every single day. You sit next to me as I work each day, giving me the strength to move forward. Happy Birthday from the moon and back, I know you are in heaven raising hell with your sister Lisa.
I love you with all of my heart, happy birthday.
Yours Truly…
AA
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