This was my first birthday without you. I know you were looking down on me as I started this new year, but I wanted you here. I wanted you to call me and to hear you sing Happy Birthday slightly out of tune. I wanted you to ask me what I was doing for my day. I wanted you to still be here.
I know you can’t be. I know you moved on and that’s OK. God picks the most beautiful flowers first. But this first birthday without you was hard, and I never imagined one without you. We were supposed to start new decades together, my 20’s, your 80’s. But it’s okay, because the older I get, the closer I get to you, even if that may take a while.
When you got sick, one of the only songs you remembered was Happy Birthday, and I was lucky to get a recording of you singing it. I cherish that. And although I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it, I know next year I will thank God I have it.
Till I see you again, I love you. I’ll save a piece of cake for you. Because every birthday I have is a reminder of the life you provided for my family and for me.