May 13

Our first full day in Maryland was a good one. I got up far, far later than intended, mostly because all of the cute little Maryland allergens saw me and squealed "she's back!" and my body helped out by grossly overreacting to the enthusiastic invaders' presence. (In plain, non-colorful terms, I was very congested, which made it hard to sleep.)

But I heard the call of the Mother Ship, so after we admired the gorgeous pink flowers in front of the house, Abby and I headed out in our giant rental SUV for some late-morning caffeinated libations. From there we enjoyed some ice cream at Jimmie Cone --chocolate jimmies on chocolate and vanilla for me, New York cheesecake for her-- before driving to Target to pick up make-up remover. (And to look at Cars with Faces. And yes, I did find some new ones! It was thrilling.) By then the lunch hour was upon us and Abby had a hankering for roast beef, so we settled on Roy Rogers before heading back to the house to meet my mom. 

Yesterday was Mother's Day, of course, but today also happened to be my mom's 78th birthday, so we gave her the presents we'd brought along. I was particularly satisfied when she cackled over the singing cats birthday card I picked out; certain members of my family who shall remain nameless didn't believe she'd appreciate it, but I knew she would and it's so nice to be right now and again. Anyway, from there we went to the Cheesecake Factory to continue the birthday celebration, and then we joined her at her choir rehearsal, where she introduced us to many of her friends. More than once, a person I'd never met before approached me and said "I know who your mother is! You look just like her!" And they did indeed know. It was like my childhood all over again. It was quite pleasant sitting there listening to them sing a handful of worship songs --some I knew and some I didn't-- and it was especially sweet when they had mom stand up so they could sing Happy Birthday. She's blessed with a great group of compadres in them and I'm grateful for that.

We finished off our day by beginning the very long process of going through grandma's pictures so we can create memory boards for her memorial service this weekend. I hadn't realized it before, but my grandma kept every card that was sent to her and has literally thousands of photos --most of them labeled-- of friends and family and her gardens. It's proving to be a huge undertaking, but it was so much fun to show Abby photos of not just her great grandmother during her younger years, but of her great great grandmother and her great great great grandmother as well. The history in those boxes is mind-blowing to me, and I'm thankful to have access to it.

So yes, it was a good day. And a full day. And I am thankful for the time with two of the most amazing women in my life.