July 13th is always a happy and sad day for me. It’s happy because it’s my mother and father-in-law’s anniversary (July 13, 1948) but sad because it’s also the day my Mom passed away (July 13, 2007). This year is especially poignant for me after spending Saturday celebrating Jordan and Rachel’s wedding.
I couldn’t help but think how much Mom (and Dad, who passed away on Feb 7, 1994 after having had a stroke in 1985) would have enjoyed the celebration of the wedding. Dad would have been beaming ear-to-ear with pride and both of them would have been out on the dance floor “boogieing” with the kids. They would have been the last to leave (yes, we get it honestly) and their laughter would have been heard loud and clear during the speeches and into the night.
For our wedding, Mom was highly involved. She made the fruitcake wedding cake; she hand crocheted numerous favours (filled with mints); she made sure every lady at our wedding received a flower when they arrived at the reception; and I’m sure numerous other things that I’ve long forgotten (Nancy could probably tell you though!).
I know that on Saturday they were there though in spirit. Jordan’s tribute to them was lovely, and seeing pictures of Dad holding Jordan as a baby brought some additional moistness to my not-so-dry eyes.
It’s so hard to believe that it’s been four years since I’ve “been an orphan”, and I can’t say that many days go by when I don’t think of them in some way.
Thanks Mom and Dad for raising me up the way you did, so that I could pass that on to Jordan, who will eventually pass that on to his family. To you, I say…
TTFN <3
<3