My Mom

This is my mom.

Today would have been her 80th birthday.

She passed away at 78 from multiple myeloma, which caused her to have kidney failure and require dialysis 3x a week. She fought hard, but ultimately lost the battle. Cancer sucks.

I miss her every day.

My mom was, for the most part, an optimist. I never heard any “doom and gloom” pronouncements from her. She tried to see the good in everything and everyone. Sometimes to her detriment.

She was funny, and had a very lovable childlike quality. She didn’t always make the best decisions, but she did try.

My parents divorced when I was 3. I did, and still do, have a great relationship with my father — and with my stepmom for that matter. They married when I was 4 or 5 — I can’t remember which. I got very, very lucky in the parent department, though. I have never heard my Dad or stepmom say anything negative about my Mom, and I never heard anything negative from her about them. They all decided to be adults, and while they weren’t what I’d call super-friendly, they were courteous to each other. One of my favorite pictures of all time is one taken at my wedding when I was dancing with my Dad. It’s a picture of my Mom and stepmom, arm in arm, crying as they watched me and Dad dance.