November 3
Robin woke up this morning and one of the first things she said to Jon was, “Do you know what today is?” In my typical morning stupor, I had no idea what she was about to say. The time change has been rough around here and she has been waking up hungry at 5:30 a.m. Anyway, she proceeded to tell Jon, “It’s my Grandma Robin’s birthday!” I couldn’t believe she remembered a conversation we had yesterday about my mom’s birthday. And that this would be one of the first things on her mind in the morning.
In addition to being tired today, I was in a general funk over my mom’s birthday. I miss her so much. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have her here in Cincinnati, deeply involved in Robin and Henry’s lives. I know it would be so wonderful. I can imagine her stopping by our house after work on her way home. I can imagine her taking the kids to the Zoo and to story time at the library. She would babysit often and would be an integral part of their lives. Oh, how I miss her. I miss the comfort that she would bring me in my darkest hours, the positive spin she could put on any situation.
In her honor today, I made my annual contribution to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and then Robin and I decided to do something fun. We were already planning a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey (Jon’s doing), mashed potatoes, cranberries, and asparagus. Well, Robin and I decided that we should have a birthday party. So while Jon carved the turkey, we ran over to Graeter’s in Mariemont and bought a birthday cake and some mint chocolate chip ice cream. I laughed when the lady asked me what the occasion was. I asked Robin and she said, “to have after dinner,” and then I told the lady it was a cake for my deceased mom! I asked if she had ever gotten that response and she said, “No!” :) Ha!
In typical Robin style, she got dressed up in a red gown and black patent leather shoes. We lit the candles, had a relaxing and delicious meal, and then had cake and ice cream for dessert. We even sang “Happy Birthday dear Grandma” and everyone smiled and rejoiced as I told stories about my mom. She loved birthdays, she loved celebrations, and I knew she was right there with us tonight.
Sara
8 hours ago












