Thriving...in Spite of It

Today is my mom's birthday. We used to celebrate ours together before she passed away in 2007 (mine is on the 1st), so things have changed for me--I feel differently about my birthday than before, but I'm not writing about this to open old wounds or question why death happens. I have so many great memories, and so many personal attributes to her credit. She was a great mom--she was a working mom, too. It occurs to me that, looking back, I don't feel as if I were deprived of anything because of that. True, she stayed home with us when we were little, but she worked hard most of her life, and still had time for late night talks and early morning Bible-reading, hosting impromptu gatherings with our friends, and cooking many a satisfying soul-food meal. She had time to teach me to cook all the important staples--from biscuits and gravy to tacos, beans and rice. She set the example of fortitude and joy through numerous challenges, and I learned, by watching and listening, to d