Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. She would have been 95, but she left us at 87. Having a Halloween birthday was always good for witch jokes, broomstick as mode of transportation, and just calling her scary in general, which wasn’t far from the truth. She had a wicked sense of humor, in every sense of the word.

I remember one Halloween back in the 70’s when I mentioned my boyfriend and I were going to go out to buy a pumpkin, to which she replied, “You don’t buy pumpkins. You steal them.” She came from a poor family and lived near farmland, so I was never quite sure if she was serious…

My father was on the receiving end of her craziness more often than not. One day he made the mistake of ignoring her at the breakfast table while reading the newspaper. She set it on fire. As I said; a wicked sense of humor, scary, but certainly entertaining.

As our parents age our relationships with them change. We become the caretakers as much as we are able, and sometimes we just have to watch them make what we think are questionable decisions and hope for the best. I know I took issue with several things she did late in life, and I was afraid those would be the things I remembered. Now that some time has passed I can happily say the good memories outweigh the bad, and I’m more apt to chuckle than to shake my head when I think of her now.

And I always think of her on Halloween, and wonder if I really was supposed to steal that pumpkin.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Deborah

Click here for a link to this week’s Standard Times article on Pumpkin Bread Pudding, or to read it on my website go here.