Mid-April Celebrations and Tears

Mid-April brings smiles and happy thoughts but also tears. I’m always glad when May comes around and brings happier thoughts with it.

My siblings and I threw my mom a surprise party for her 92nd birthday. It was low key and involved fried chicken and sides from the local grocery story and a cake with hot pink icing. It looked awful but tasted very delicious (I made it). We even put four candles on top so she’d have something to blow out and make a wish. Her smile was huge, and she was near tears as we sang the happy birthday song to her. We had a great time. The next day at church, she told people no one had done anything for her birthday, and she didn’t even get a cake. It made me sad she forgot so soon, but a friend reminded me that in that moment the day before, we made her very happy. With dementia, that’s the best you can hope for.

Also in mid-April come the anniversaries of the Oklahoma City bombing, the plane crash that killed the best politician and governor I ever knew (George Mickelson), the shooting at Columbine High School which seemed to trigger all the future school shootings, and my niece’s suicide. Our governor was killed on the same day that the mess at Waco occurred. While the country watched the raid there, South Dakota watched the crash site in Iowa that killed our beloved leader. He was a very humble man who was a great leader and never lost touch with who he represented.

Please excuse me while I mourn my niece and my student that was killed in OKC. Their losses still affect me deeply, and I still shed tears over them. In the past week, another family member lost her life which adds to the list of losses at this time of year. I pray and pray that none of those types of things happen again. To help me through all the emotions, I’m kind to others as often as I can be and write more. It provides the therapy I need to feel better.