Birthday Wishes for Mom

At what point do we grow up and really meet our parents? I can’t recall the first time I saw my mother, not as “my mom,” but as another person.

My mother is a woman. A wife. A friend. But, when did I meet her?

It wasn’t here…

Or, here…

My mother was quite possibly the best mom any child could hope for…yet, I didn’t really appreciate it. I took it for granted when she stayed up late helping me with homework. I wasn’t grateful when she worked during the day, and then drove me an hour and a half round-trip to dance lessons. I didn’t say “thank you” when she enrolled me in acting class and drove me to Houston several times a week because “I could do what Laura does on Little House on the Prairie.” I thought all mothers did those things.

She never missed a Jr. High basketball game, volleyball match, or track meet. She was at every game I cheered in for four years of high school and a year of college. She attended every mother’s social for my sorority, and every college event, when I asked her to go.

Even now she edits my query letters and book proposals and doesn’t laugh when I forget to add yeast when making bagels.

This weekend she will celebrate her birthday, and I sure wish I was there – or, she was here.

If she was here, I’d take her to our favorite seafood restaurant, nestled in the hills between Catanzaro and Lamezia. I wouldn’t order wine, ’cause that’s not her thing, but I’d get a big ‘ole coke – and ask for ice. Afterwards, I would take her to Catanzaro Lido for a super-sized gelato and a stroll along the lungomare. And, I’d make her try limoncello – again!

Sadly for me, she is not here, so that mother-daughter date will remain a figment of my imagination, possibly forever. Instead, I will take the opportunity to finally tell her thank you.

Thank you for always putting us first.

Thank you for being strong, so we could always depend on you.

Thank you for being the kind of mother I pray I will be.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I sure am glad I got to know you.

Be sure to visit Barb at Art and Barb Live in Italy for this week’s edition of la buona cucina americana, and some good old-fashioned scalloped potatoes!