Today is my mom's birthday. She won't mind if I tell you she is 85 because people say she looks younger. She lives alone, still drives, and worked until just a couple years ago as a part-time courier for the local hospital.
Mom lives in a town of under a thousand people on the side of a mountain in eastern West Virginia. She moved there almost twenty years ago when she married her second husband. He had a place and she was ready to leave the big city. I grew up just outside Washington, D.C., and as much as Mom loves the city it was getting more congested and harder to navigate every year.
It's hard to get to West Virginia from Maine, a 15-hour car ride or a 3-hour drive from an airport in either direction. My sons and I drove down for her 2003 wedding, and Ken and I have made the trip a couple times since then. We had planned to make the trip this summer and maybe meet up with other family to celebrate her 85th birthday early, but the universe had other ideas.
So my sister, who lives in Scotland, messaged me a couple weeks ago about planning a surprise Zoom call for Mom's birthday. I thought that was a great idea, especially since my sister knew how to set it up. Several of us had talked to her this past week and no one spilled the beans. My sister had even set up a practice Zoom call with her under the guise of wanting to do a special one-on-one call with her today. So to see almost a dozen frames on the screen this afternoon was a real surprise for Mom and a real pleasure for all of us. My grandkids sang happy birthday and asked what kind of cake she had; the answer wasn't cake but vanilla bean ice cream. Mailing addresses were shared. We talked about "getting together" again after my next grandchild has arrived.
It was a real celebration to share time with family, some of whom I haven't seen for many years. My brother and his sons and daughter zoomed in, as did my uncle and cousin. It was nice to visit in a way that wouldn't have worked if we had all tried to be in the same physical place at the same time. As much as we've all lost this year, it's good to recognize that we've made a few things work better than before.
I know I'm lucky to be able to visit with my mom. I don't take that for granted. Every time we talk we pick up where we left off, no matter how long it's been since we last connected. I am grateful for the time we have to share.
Happy Birthday Mom.
Love, Your Daughter
1 comment:
Happy Birthday to your mom. So happy that your family was able to connect through Zoom for her special day. May she continue to be strong and may you be able to see her in the months to come. It's so hard to be so far. Our daughter and grandchildren are living in Italy-- and we haven't been able to make plans to visit. Let's all pray for a stronger and healthy tomorrows......
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