We should have left last Thursday.  We were supposed to all pile into two cars and head to this perfect little beachfront VRBO for a long weekend of celebrating HER.  Then on Sunday, John and the boys would have headed home and just she and I were off to Savannah to this great apartment with a roof-top terrace, perfect for a glass of wine under the stars on a fall night!  Just the two of us – just for a few days. 

We should be there TODAY...she and I...just mom and daughter...stealing time away together...

We were calling it our 70/40 trip – to commemorate the year she turned 70 and I turned 40.  We started planning last Christmas when she opened the new luggage we gave her and the gift certificate I’d printed telling her all about the surprise birthday trip!  She was so excited; we had months to look forward to it & plan together!  We texted and emailed until we decided on the perfect places to stay.   We researched where we should shop, eat and tour.  We laughed about the thought of us taking lots of selfies to commemorate the occasion.  She had bought travel toiletries, a new bathing suit cover up for the beach, and new walking shoes for touring around Savannah.  We were especially looking forward to our time away just as mom and daughter, not as “mom and nana” and not with a long to do list or a deadline to be back to pick someone up from an activity… 

Today marks 5 weeks since she went HOME. 

Today would have been her 70th birthday. 

While the day is nothing at all like we planned, the thought behind the gift, the idea of the 70/40 trip - what we really wanted for mom - was to spend her birthday with those she loved.  Oh how I wish we were singing to her and watching her blow out her candles, making a wish that undoubtedly would have been about blessing us in some way.  BUT, I know with certainty she IS spending the day with loved ones - people she has missed on many, many earthly birthdays…  While I won't pretend our hearts aren't broken; I do find HOPE in what must be pure joy for mom.  A birthday once again with her daddy who she lost at age 6, her step dad who she lost at 36, her mom who passed away when she was 46 and sweet Papaw who was like another dad to her & who always called to sing happy birthday to those he loved until he, too, was called Home.  As much as I miss her today, I have to think she must have thought of them every October 16th and how amazing it must be for her to be celebrating in the presence of those precious loved ones once again…  No, not at all as we imagined it, but a far more beautiful gift than I could have given mom and HOPE for our healing hearts as well...  

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it. 

There may not be birthday candles to blow out today, but the light remains.  It shines in our lives every day as you continue to pour love over us in the form of cards, texts, messages, calls, memorials, hugs and well wishes.  The light of her amazing life shines on in the memories you share with us and the love of her that was so beautifully celebrated at her service a few weeks ago.  Greyson, Graham and I may have carried her light from the sanctuary that day, but it is our community of friends and family who are lighting our dark path as we grieve through these many "firsts" and find our family’s new normal.   We are forever grateful & hope you know that not a single act of love has gone unnoticed or unappreciated.  Please continue to love us and to lift us up in prayer in the days, weeks, and months ahead. 

Friends, treasure every moment with those you love, & especially today, LET YOUR OWN LIGHT SHINE in the lives of those around you…a fitting way to honor the birthday of lady who was so loved and is so terribly missed… 



**I will be closing out our Caring Bridge site later this week.  THANK YOU for following our journey!**