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This Will Be My First Mother’s Day Without Mom
Another milestone on the erratic path of grief
My mom died last summer. Last July, to be precise: in the wee hours of the morning of Friday the 13th.
After the bewildering chaos and fresh grief in the aftermath of her death, after we all went back to our lives as best we could, back to “normal”, after the memorial service; that’s when the little ambushes started.
I missed her on my birthday, in October, when she didn’t call, or send a card.
I missed her at Thanksgiving, and I couldn’t call her on her birthday in early December. I really missed her at Christmas: she loved Christmas. She was a Santa-worshipper, filling her and my stepdad’s house with Santa pictures, Santa dolls, Santa figurines, and setting the Christmas table with Santa candles — which have never been lit, so they stay intact year after year to bring their ho-ho-ho spirit to the table.
I miss her every Saturday morning at 11, when we would always have our weekly phone calls.
And now here comes Mother’s Day. One of my Facebook friends, who has lost both her parents, posted a heartfelt plaint that began “Dear internet marketers…” Basically asking them to please remember that not everyone is a target for mom-centric shopping appeals this time of…
