Happy Life Day!!

I know I haven't been around much lately. There has been so much on my mind. It's hard to write coherently. But tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I feel the need to say a little something. I feel the need to recognize the day for what it is, not a celebration of birth but a celebration of life. I've been dreading this day for a couple of weeks now and can't even pretend to forget it. The words are written on my calendar in bright blue, permanent ink followed by two happy exclamation points that patronize me every time I pass by. But in the spirit of celebrating life, I will continue to put this on my calendar. It will no longer read "Mom's Birthday!!" but "Mom's Life Day!!" (Can't forget those exclamation points.)

For every birthday at my house when I was a kid, my mom always made a cake of our choice. For Bear it was always German chocolate cake and for me it was usually something with little bits of candy and strawberry frosting. Always strawberry frosting. And the pièce de résistance - the writing on the top. Oh, it never said anything overly creative but the penmanship was impeccable! I can never figure out how the woman did it. Every letter was in perfect proportion to the next. Every 'I' had a perfect little dot and every 'T' a perfect little cross. If you've ever tried to write on a cake you know what I'm talking about. You squeeze the frosting out of a flimsy little bag with a tiny plastic tip. One wrong move and suddenly your 'p' becomes a 'D' and you have to figure out how to salvage "HapDy Birthday." Sure you could add a simple line to the bottom of the 'D' but it's just not the same.

So, in closing, I would like to wish you all a happy life day! And if, in celebration of life day, you decide to make a cake I suggest using the pre-made letters. It's much less trouble, trust me.