the un-birthday....no quilty content

february 23rd is mom's unbirthday...she would have been 98...she nearly made it...healthy and vibrant into her 90s until the junkyard dog cancer grabbed hold and didn't let go.  she never thought about age or numbers, just got up every day and did what she always did...as the family stalwarts always did.  we were shocked and still are at this deep and profound loss.  if she were here, we'd have chocolate cake with boiled icing, a nice dinner, a few gifts, probably flowers from somebody and calls from faraway family.  we wouldn't have been surprised that she was 98, still walking in good weather, living independently, preparing family get togethers, doing her crosswords....we are surprised she isn't here, leaving us with a crater-size hole in our hearts and lives...

i didn't circle her in the grade school photo, but she is on the left in the front row....i ended with a photo of pemaquid point, her favorite ocean place....we went there often just to relax and drink in the ocean smell and sounds, sun glistening on the waves, always with a book and ending with a trip to the snack bar for french fries...she loved them and her Savior, Jesus Christ, and family, reading, walking, lobster, vintage dishes, adventures, music, the ocean...in later years i gifted her special trips like a windjammer cruise, a music concert, a trip to see Cirque du Soleil, pilgrimages to Jonesboro, holiday concerts, Downeast Brass at an old church, summer festivals, a high tea luncheon, beach vacations....and always, always ocean visits...never did get the sand completely out of the car!  i'll be making clam chowder in her honor and a toast to a lifetime of love--her gift to all of us...