Birthday--Haaaaa

Funny thing about facebook...if you put your birthday down in the info section, everybody (and quite possibly their mother) will know when it is your birthday. In fact, fb sends out a birthday reminder a week ahead, then posts it on the right side of your home page.

So, today is my birthday. Here are some pics for the day taken from sunrise to sunset (which happened to be ruined by a huge thunderstorm)...

"At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding."

~Norman Maclean

"Quite minds can't be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm."

~Robert Louis Stevenson

"Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow."

~ James M. Barrie

"Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail."

~ Robert Motherwell

I do not recommend taking photos while the photographer is the one driving the vehicle.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, mom. Here's a rose from your garden.

"Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever."

~ Unknown

just not the same...

I did something today that I haven't done for about a year. The ritualistic working on Sunday, followed by a stop at Bread Co to pick up lunch. After my father died 5 years ago, whenever I would work on Sunday, I'd call up my mom on the way home and ask if she wanted me to pick up lunch from Bread Co. Her answer would always be, "Do they have black bean soup?" Yes, that was one of the selections of the day. So, we'd have a late lunch together, sitting in front of the television, watching some sort of Lifetime movie--or the baseball game.

Today was different. Just not as exciting eating the lunch as it used to be. It's been almost a year since my mom was last at home. I can still see in my mind, those lunches with my mom, watching her savor her bowl of black bean soup. One of the little things she enjoyed, and one of the things I didn't mind doing for her, even when I had to park down the street and then go stand in line and wait for our order. That was a tradition. I hope they don't ever stop selling that black bean soup. It's one of my favorites, too.

"I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still the deepest impressed on my heart."

~Eliza Cook