Mom's Birthday
Today is the anniversary of my mom’s birth. If she were still alive, she would’ve been 80 years old today. She died at the age of 52, when I was 19 years old. I got married about six months before her death. I look at her two sisters: one lived to 90 and the other is still going strong at 91. Yet, her brother died at a young age, too. I don’t remember how old he was—just that I was in elementary school. Her own mom died as a result of complications from childbirth when my mom was only three weeks old. She had a hard scrabble life, but if there was a word to describe her, I would say sturdy. Steadfast. Ok, two words. She was forced to grow up long before her time, and I don’t think she got to experience much joy as a child. My mom abused her poor little body and it just plain wore out and couldn’t go on any more. I have very few of the bad habits she had, and I try to take care of myself. The closer my own age gets to 52, the more I realize how much of a vapor our lives re...