Grandma's Birthday

Today my Grandma MacDonald would have been 88 years old. She loved her birthday, celebrating, presents, all of it (maybe that's where I get my birthday month from!). We loved it too because it always fell around Thanksgiving (sometimes even on the holiday) and it meant everyone would be together for her day. There was always a cake, even if it was Thanksgiving Day, and there was always another celebration, usually putting up her Christmas tree with the whole family the day after Thanksgiving which she loved.

This morning I thought about her as I used her measuring cups to bake pumpkin bread. I thought about her as I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee (I wish I had liked coffee earlier in life so we could have shared a pot) and watched a hummingbird flitter around the cactus in my front yard. She loved hummingbirds. For a minute I sat there and watched and imagined it was her coming for a quick check on me.

She has been gone a couple of years now. Yet I still reach for the phone to call her. I still vividly remember her voice when I need comforting and see her smile when something good happens. I wish she were here today so I could call her and talk for an hour about nothing and everything. I miss that voice on the other end of the line more than she could ever know.

Today we gave my mom flowers to celebrate grandma's birthday. It's a hard day for everyone. But a happy day too. We are remembering her. We are. And that's what it is all about.

I love you Grandma. Happy Birthday.

Grandma and Mom on Grandma's last birthday