I have no idea if birthdays are a thing in heaven. But I like to envision my sweet mother celebrating what would have been the start of her 77th year with those she loves. My granny whipping up her favorite cake. Friends and family who were special to her gathered around. It's a beautiful and comforting thought.
It was just six short years ago this month that mother moved into the guesthouse of our recently remodeled home. Mother wanted a new leather recliner for her birthday, so we went to a local furniture store to check out the selection. She ended up choosing one in an interesting shade of green we special ordered that she adored. That chair turned out to be a blessing as the cancer moved into her bones in the last year of her life. It was one of the few places where she could get comfortable, and now it resides in our upstairs family room.
No doubt we would have celebrated mother's birthday with a lovely meal or two. Birthdaypalooza we called it, stretching the excuse to have someone else cook a good meal for several days. As much as mother enjoyed and excelled at cooking, she also loved to eat out. I imagine we would have ventured forth to a restaurant for seafood or steak. And it would undoubtedly be washed down with some sugar. Mother never met a dessert she didn't like. She got that love of cakes and pies from her own mother, who whipped them up from scratch on the regular.
This morning I took our dogs for separate walks. I don't think it was a coincidence that we crossed paths with a snorty old pug either. Mother said goodbye to her precious pugs Max and Ruby exactly a year before she went to heaven. They were a brother and sister duo we bought for her that were her faithful companions for almost a dozen years. She loved them dearly and mourned their loss, even as her own health was failing. If heaven is the perfect and peaceful place the Bible tells us it is, then her darling pugs will be right there with her, too.
Life hasn't been the same since mother left us, and yet we move forward with the joys and sorrows of this world. She has been missed on so many occasions, both big and small. We see things that remind us of her quite frequently and we comment on them. Cardinals in our yard. A tasty piece of pie. Pretty suede flats in fall colors. Snorting pugs. So many beautiful remembrances soften the grief, reminding us that she's free from the struggles of this earthly world and at peace with her Heavenly Father. That is the greatest birthday present anyone could ask for.
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