Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today would have been my Mom's 54th birthday. It's so hard to believe that she's been gone almost 5 years. I tried to spend today thinking of all of the wonderful memories I have of her. I kept thinking about how we might have celebrated today if she were still here and about how much the boys would love her. She would have been the best grandma and was for the 4 short months she got to experience it. Right around this time 5 years ago, I had just gone back to work after maternity leave. She was driving all the way to my house 2 days a week to watch Thomas so I wouldn't have to put him in daycare. I'm sure she hated the drive but she never complained about it, instead just talked about how much she loved spending the days with her grandson. Tonight (thanks to Mike's wonderful suggestion) we all went to our favorite restaurant along with my Dad and step-mom. This place was a favorite of mine growing up and was the last restaurant I went to with her. We went a few weeks before she died to celebrate her and my Dad's 30th wedding anniversary (next week would have been their 35th anniversary). It was nice to be able to spend part of the day with my Dad too.