Since it would be nice to spend my birthday with my mother, Jim and Karen and I drove to NC.
Started the day with a nice surprise. My youngest sister, Dena, brought me a pound cake she made "from scratch" using my mother's recipe. Talk about a special surprise! Dena hesitated as she handed it to me. " I hate to give one of these away without cutting it first -" I knew what she meant. Laughing I reached for the cake, "If there is a "sad" streak I will love it anyway". Anybody that has ever made a pound cake from scratch knows the moment of truth at the cutting - if the cake is not cooked well there is a streak of undercooked dough right through it and its "sad".
Mama treated us to lunch at Concord Place where she lives. Dena's cake was a treat for all especially Mama who loved eating one of her cakes again. Once Mama was "known" for her perfect and perfectly delicious pound cakes. " I made them for parties at work and then people started asking me to bring them. Once a man took a bite and said, " Maam, this is the BEST cake I ever ate." Mama asked for a second piece of cake. "I think she did good with this one, don't you?"
Do you ever have the feeling that you are seeing someone as you once knew them? I know that when I look into my mother's face today I have a memory of this woman -and I think she remembers me as this child.
We had a great visit - lots of laughs despite having to deal with the painful truth of my mother's cancer as she accepts it and decides what course of medical treatment to follow.
Mama and I go back a long way - proven by this birthday. We share a heap of memories. When we start laughing together we can bring back very happy times and lots of people we share. Nobody knows you like your mother - and nobody has seen as much of your life as your oldest child - especially when it is a nosy daughter.
Yes, I have enjoyed some really special birthdays - in Africa and Italy and Ireland. And I have had some neat parties thanks to Mama and Jim - but right now , this one tops the list - home made cake and holding my mama's hand.
1 comment:
Ellouise, your blog has grown! I am so enjoying reading all the recent posts. It's a real pleasure to look into your world. As Tim S told me when he read my blog, "you're living a storyteller's life." And what a life it is.
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