Birthday celebrations and anniversaries remembered

She sat reading, sleepily propped up in her bed cozy with rose covered boudoir pillows and down. It was late at night. Too late really. Captivated by the historic fiction she adores the pages flip slowly as the story unfolds. She stays up too late and misses half the next day slumbering. But this is her way. Especially now. Her time of solitude when TVs are off and the phones have been quieted. Alone time stolen from a zillion years ago in another lifetime actually when her brood of four slept quickly tucked into childhood slumber. The night shorter then somehow.

The January sky of deep navy velvet punctuated with glittering shines of a thousand diamonds cocoons the Maine night. Just beyond the slightly opened window a round moon casts sharp, twisty shadows of naked trees across snow meadows rolling to the sea. Lost in thought she feels a slight graze on her elbow and absentmindedly flicks off the summer lady bug nowhere to be found. A soft glow shimmers in the corner of her eye over by the chintz covered arm chair draped with her yesterday clothes. A bear hug slowly embraces her 85 year old body warmly, lovingly across a decade of memories lost. Willy has come home to wish our darling mother a happy birthday.

Cheers, sweet brother, visiting from across the clouds ... you are with us until tomorrow's tomorrow's tomorrow.