Happy Birthday

Today is Flag day. It is also Gloria's birthday. Had she lived, she would have turned 84 today. She was my mother-in-law. She died suddenly in the middle of the night 18 years ago. She had never been sick, although her husband had health problems for many years. She always lamented "Please G-d, don't make me a widow". She died 6 weeks before her husband. I guess we should all be careful what we ask for, we might get it. She never was a widow. She was a good and kind woman, who deserved a better life. She spent many years making excuses for other people's behavior. It took me a long time to figure out why she acted as she did, and by that time, unbeknownst to me, our time together was limited. I taught my children to love her unconditionally and they always told her that they loved her. Not a day goes by that I do not think of her and it took many years not to cry when I thought of her. She was a wonderful woman who was just misunderstood. Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.