Today would have been my mom's 67th birthday.  It is also 8 months from her last day on Earth.    Everything is a little more dull without her here.   She would always be so excited for everything we were doing.     It often feels like what is the point, if we can't share it with mom.   There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss her.      As life events pass, we all try and find our new normal without her.  

I am saddened that she didn't get the opportunity to meet and love on the twins.  Or to see what a great mom and dad Emily and Lloyd are.  She would be so proud of them all and be telling the world about it.     That the girls don't get to know their Nana in person is just not fair.      She would have loved them so much.   

The last gift she got for Eli (my son) was a baseball bat.  I asked him recently if he wanted a new one for high school, and he said, "No, that is my last gift from Nana and I will play with it for all of high school."      Ava will be graduating from high school this year and my mom was her number one supporter.   She has a treasured gift from her last birthday, that I think she will keep forever too.     

My mom was the most energetic, optimistic, thoughtful and caring person I knew.   She is missed and still loved by so many.   Mom, I wake up everyday wishing you were still here with us.  You were one of the healthiest people we knew and took for granted that we would have you for so much longer.   

I am thankful that she can look down on Emily, Richard, and me and see things are going well for us.   She would be so happy to see her kids and grandchildren doing so well.    

One of her last wishes was to swim in the gulf.  She unfortunately never had the energy to go after her diagnosis.    Today I swam in the ocean for her.  

If you have something you miss about Lisa, please share in the comments.