So, I missed blogging yesterday. (Again.) I have no defense. I simply forgot in the midst of a busy day and then fell asleep (again) before I realized that I hadn't met my "daily quota," so to speak.
Yesterday was a good day. My friend Stephanie is getting married next month and was having a bridal shower, so I was motivated to get up and dressed (with hair and make-up done, I might add!) and on my way fairly early on a Saturday. Even so, I only just made it on time...I suppose because I am my mother's daughter and had to stop on an errand on the way down...apparently I am genetically encoded to carry on the proud tradition of trying to wrap a present in the car on the way to the party. (For you super safety-conscious people out there, I do want to clarify that I wasn't actually wrapping the present while driving. I did wait until I arrived in her driveway to hurriedly put my gift bag together.)
It was so much fun to catch up with her and meet her soon-to-be-in-laws and friends. (Although I feel like I should apologize again for the rather embarrassing story I told as part of a "getting to know the bride and groom" game...I thought the point was to tell a funny story, and everyone else said really nice things--but not that funny--I hope I haven't made myself a reputation as the "inappropriate" friend...oh well. Too late!) I haven't seen her in a couple months and it was just what the doctor ordered. Her shower was also held at the Rocky Mountain Pizza Co.--buffet style. (Two enthusiastic thumbs up from the pregnant demographic!) I also got to meet her fiancé afterwards. He was able to quote from the TV show Community, so I decided he could be officially classified as "an awesome guy."
Later, when I got home, we were joined by Scott and Ana for some quality hang-out time. It made me laugh when both of them commented on how nice I looked. Apparently it's been awhile since they've seen me out of my "natural state." (Aka: scrubs/sweats with bed-head and no makeup.) Maybe I should try to take more trouble to look nice...then again, it's kind of funny to watch people's reactions...they're not quite sure whether it's impolite to be surprised at how nice I clean up. Either way, they were both very complimentary and I felt gratified.
All in all, it was good that I was kept busy yesterday, because it was the fourth anniversary of the day my mother passed away. I almost didn't realize it until I woke up this morning and remembered why I hadn't been looking forward to this particular weekend...
I fully admit that I had a bit of a pity party while I was stuck working a long shift today. I kept thinking about all the things I would have liked to talk to her about, especially now that I'm approaching motherhood myself. I felt sad and deprived that my children wouldn't get to meet her during this lifetime. But mostly, I just missed her.
I miss the way she would wake me up for school after her 5 am workout by climbing into my bed and shoving her icy cold hands up my back--always a rude awakening I might add--and then she would proceed to torture me by crooning, "Oh Caite! You're my little toaster-oven! You don't have to get up, you could just snuggle me for a while..." Yeah--I'd get up.
I miss the way she would trick me into getting my eyebrows plucked by luring me in with friendly conversation until I suddenly realized that I was cornered and she was coming at me with tweezers...
I miss the way she would listen to me when we talked.
I miss the way she would always remind me how to do something, even if it was a simple task that I had done a hundred times before.
I miss her reactions--how her excitement over your good news somehow made it that much more exciting!
I miss how much fun we had. I know I was the last child, and sometimes my family teases me about how easy I had it. They're probably right; but I still enjoy the fact that my mother really was my best friend. We had a lot of good times, and I wanted to end this post with a video clip I found the other day of us waltzing around the Grand Ballroom at the Opera House in Paris...but I don't have the software to pare down the video to just the clip. (And the majority of the other 40 or so minutes is footage of random people's legs, the sky, and flowers...because mom would always forget that the video camera was still on while she was walking around...Very few things were filmed on purpose--except for the the flowers--she never missed an opportunity to document gardens.)
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| Mom in front of Monet's waterlily pond in Giverny 2006 |
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