Today would have been my mother’s 105th birthday. I don’t know if she would have enjoyed living this long.

The photo below was taken a decade ago as we celebrated her 95th. She was still very sharp mentally, although slowing down a little physically as a hip replacement down about 20 years before was starting to wear out. On occasion, she would complain all of her friends were gone, and she could, if pressed, list them from memory, how she had known them, who they were related to, who they married, where they had lived, when she had last seen them, and when they passed away.

But this wasn’t a day for complaining. She was enjoying the meal. We all were. Meda and I were there, along with my sister, Bonnie. My mom was laughing as she got ready to blow out the candles on her birthday cake.

This simple photo tells you a lot. Behind her is a large wooden pig bowl that I believe had belonged to her parents. Displayed in it are jars from her latest batch of surinam cherry jelly, orange marmalade, and other goodies cooked in the tiny kitchen she had ruled since they bought the house in 1942. Over her right shoulder is a little purple ceramic elephant, one of her fun and artistic animal creations. Behind her, partially visible, is the neck of a blue ceramic wine decanter, another of her products. On the wall, a David Lee painting on silk she had scrounged at a garage sale. Bits of a good long life, and she was fortunate to enjoy a couple of more good years.

In any case, Happy Birthday to her.