More celebration -- sweet and solemn

Thank you, Gd, for granting me health and ability to have lived another year and to see my girls off to camp for another summer.

Here we are, in Toronto. Tonight we continue the celebration of Marty's milestone birthday after having spent many happy hours in the car listening to his newly-loaded, shiny, black iPod. We will get out the guitars, piano and accordion and sing songs in at least three languages tonight. I can't wait for the festivities to begin. Marty was so ecstatic with his gift. I can see that it has awakened him to the individual's Technology-given right to the world of sound/music/thought choice in a world of "music-by-the-pound," to quote my genius music buddy Allan Watsky.

Tomorrow, we have a sad celebration -- my mother's unveiling. We will be reading from Mum's memoirs about the war years, "Be Decent." These were the last words her mother ever said to her before she kissed my mother and sent her off to whatever unknown fate would await her toward the east of Poland. The unveiling begins at 11 a.m. at the Mount Sinai cemetery on Wilson Avenue. Afterward we will host an informal reading of the memoirs and allow for Mum's good friends to share their thoughts and feelings.

Then I will be feeling the absence of my mother as I put the kids on the bus and say good bye for the summer. We used to do this together. It is painfully empty to do it without her now.

Time to tune up the guitar and get ready for tonight.

A great big "EHLLO!" to my Scrabble family who are at Annette's tournament in Albany this weekend. May the Tile Gods be with you! I look forward to reading about it on ISC later.

And Romuald, not only will I be thinking about you tomorrow, but I am thinking about you now, too. Thanks for sharing your stories with me. My mother and you would have gotten on so well. You believe the same things the same way. You are both so strong and possessed of such incredible tenacity and spirit. I am so sorry you did not get a chance to meet.

Love,
Lynda