The gardenia corsage is tradition. Hallelujah!

Mother' s Day was many things.  I was so happy that my daughter Jennifer decided to keep alive the time honored tradition of the gardenia corsage.  You have all seen pictures of my Mom with the gardenia corsage I bought for her on Mother's Days in the past.  And this year, our first Mother's day without Mom, my daughter gave me a gardenia corsage.  I was moved to tears of joy and hope and feeling loved.

Below,  I am proudly wearing the beautiful gardenia corsage.  The next picture is of Dolan, me and Jen enjoying some sun on the deck.  It was a beautiful day.

Skipp made a lovely breakfast earlier for me and my Sister. We had blueberry blintzes, apple-wood bacon, croissants, coffee, strawberries and orange juice.  SO delicious.

Jennifer brought lunch all made.  Chicken quessedillas, nacho fixins and home made apple and peach mini tarts. Dolan traveled in from NYC to spend the day and it was wonderful to have two of my kids with me on Mother's day. And of course Skipp and my grandson Joel and my Gracie-Blue. I was surrounded by love.  :-)

My eldest, Kristie, remains distant. Not even a phone call.  Very hurtful.  Her choice to remain so distant continues to be a painful mystery.  Someday she will have many regrets when  I am no longer here for her to choose  to forget.   Enough on that.

I will conclude with one of my Mom's favorite songs.  Skipp sang it at her funeral mass, at her prior request!  KD Lang's version is one of my favorite renditions.  I will post Leonard Cohen's as well - After all, it is his song, sung as only he can.  So passionate.

The anticipation leading up to my first Mother's day without my Mom here was intense and so emotional.  The day itself was a celebration of all that she is to us and all the love we still feel from  her and for her in all things. as well as all that I am to my kids, well, two out of three of them anyways. That's a song, "Two out of three ain't bad"......