Today is my birthday. I’m twenty-nine. No… really, I am twenty-nine! Honest! This is my first birthday without Mom. Last year, we went camping with Aaron’s parents for my birthday. When I told Mom that I’d be gone on my birthday she said, “That’s a bummer. I was going to make you a cake!” I [...]

Continue reading...

I’m still managing to go through things of Mom’s that have found their way to my house. I have the pillow that I made her years ago for her arm. Since her car accident, she always felt more comfortable if she had a pillow to rest her elbow on while she was sitting. The one [...]

Continue reading...

There’s this jalapeño pepper jelly that I’ve made for the past few years. I don’t care much for it, but I use it as gifts since some of my relatives and friends enjoy it. Mom was a big fan, and I’d have to make a couple of batches a year to keep her supplied. She [...]

Continue reading...

I feel like I’ve been packing up pieces of Mom’s life. Going through her things, deciding what to do with them, and sometimes just boxing them up for now has been a physically and emotionally draining process. It has surprised me some of the things that I just can’t let go of. Today, it was [...]

Continue reading...