Eighty Nine

 

This would have been my mom's 89th birthday. Here she is sitting on the beach that I walk pretty much everyday. Those pilings behind her are still here. She isn't. Leukemia got her at 66. It was a brutal few months and then poof...she was gone. I still can't believe it and she's been gone 23 years now. She was such a force that her life energy still lingers, I fear. 

This is school age Mom at her family home. That's her brother. He's hanging on by a thread but he's still here. His kids just lost their mom to Parkinson's and now their Dad has dementia. I've been there and done that and don't envy their journey. It's a tough one. 

Young bride Mom with her mom on her wedding day. She had just turned 17. I'm in that photo too but you can't see me....wink, wink. She'd hate that I said that. Her mental health suffered her whole life from the stigma. No one ever let you forget your youthful indiscretions back then. It's worse now with the internet but it was still pretty brutal back in the 50's. Tongues wag. 

The happy family Mom. Soon I would be joined by two sisters and Mom would lock herself away for many, many years as she struggled with agoraphobia brought on, I'm pretty sure, from dealing with that charismatic but extremely volatile husband of hers. Oh, the tales I could tell but she would kill me. I've never been sure if there is a heaven but I'm not taking any chances.  As I said, she was a force. How many times do we say "it's a good thing Granny isn't here"...we all know what that would mean and it wouldn't mean anything good.