May 23—Long Beach
May 23, 1918—Des Moines, Iowa
Mom! You arrived! And you chose a doozey of a family, yin and yang to the nth degree! Your mother, bless her in her Gilded Age aristocracy and the challenges that her positioning around status and ‘shoulds’ brought her moving forward, but HOW could she not adore you from the first moment? Your giant dark eyes and spontaneous wide smile? Ah..that’s right…you were born into a family of boys, and they were her heartthrob. What was she going to do with a girl? You lived your entire 89 years wanting your mother’s approval, You imagined that you giant brain and sparkling wit might win her ‘YES!’ but no.
And then there was Dad. Thank goodness. How he loved you. Sixty-seven years together, as a team, such a team that his heart broke when you died, so what could he do? He followed you! On THIS DAY, what would have been your 90th birthday!
SO. I can only imagine that the two of you are sipping your port wine and nibbling a spread of pickled herring on triscuits, and musing over the beauty and variety of your great grand offspring!
Happy Birthday, Mom!