Birthday Letter
On the Occasion of What Would Have Been Her Seventy-Ninth Birthday
Dear Mom, Today you would have turned seventy-nine! In an ideal world, you’d still be alive and mostly healthy (or as healthy as a person of that age can be, which is pretty healthy). I’d call you up, ask chat with you for a while, wish you Happy Birthday, and maybe send some flowers. Dad…
Read MoreTwenty-Two: Make It Up As You Go Along
Dear Zoe and Talia, Several months ago, I wrote “Twins Birthday Letter” in my planner so I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to sit and write to you. I’m happy to report that I began this post six days earlier than I have the last two years, though it remains to be seen if…
Read MoreNineteen: Expectations
Dear Aaron, This is the latest I’ve ever written a birthday post. Usually I think about it well ahead of time, and even last year, when I claimed to be behind due to Grandma’s passing, I had no idea that this year would be worse. I have no excuse for it—your birthday comes around at…
Read More15: Birthday Mad Libs
Dear Melina, Holy shit, what can I say? Maybe I shouldn’t start a letter like that, especially a birthday one, but your mouth is pretty much as awful as mine, so I’m going with my gut here. It’s been a year, hasn’t it? That might truly be an understatement, but these days, it’s the best…
Read MoreOn the Occasion of What Would Have Been Her Seventy-Eighth Birthday
Dear Mom, I haven’t written a birthday letter to you before. Last year, I reflected on your birthday, and I’m glad I did. It was the last we spent with you. I didn’t know it then, of course, but with dementia (as with so many things in life), anything could happen at any time. This…
Read MoreTwenty-One: What I Want You to Know
Dear Zoe and Talia, Bear with me here—this might be the longest birthday letter yet. As always, there’s a lot to say, much of which is probably repetition from the years before, but I’m pulling out the mom card here: I get to do this because I’ve earned the right. (What does that really mean?…
Read MoreEighteen: Making Memories
Dear Aaron, I had all the plans in the world to begin this letter in September. When that didn’t happen, I moved my goal to early October. Then mid-October. But then, well, you know what occurred: my Mom took a turn for the worse, and I spent her last days with her and then more…
Read MoreBirthday Learning, III
Dear Melina, Maybe you don’t know this, but a certain person we both know thinks of me as a parenting expert. I always shrug that thought away—it holds way too much responsibility for one person—but I understand what she means. With four kids in the mix, I’ve experienced many scenarios and draw from those to…
Read MoreTwenty: The Moment
Dear Zoe and Talia, It just hit me this morning (many years too late) that I probably should have been writing you separate birthday letters—you are, after all, separate people. But I decided I wasn’t going to feel guilty about that because I have so many other items already on the things-to-feel-guilty-about list. Plus, I…
Read MoreSeventeen (Eh)
Dear Aaron, I thought about trying to write this letter in the manner we converse nowadays. If I did that, it would go a little like this— Me: Good morning, kiddo. You: Eh. Me: That’s it? You: Eh. Or it might look like this . . . Me: Hey, how was soccer? You: Good. Me:…
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