Happy Birthday, Bobbie

 Today would be Bobbie's 80th. Happy Birthday, Bobbie. Happy Birthday, to my mama.

I found this poem waiting for me on my Writer's Almanac email this morning. I thought it was significant. Marie Howe's "Prayer"

Bobbie has a new grandson

I meant to post here for my mom's birthday (March 16), which my husband, son and I celebrated by sprinkling some of her ashes in Big Sur, CA. It was a lovely day; and thanks to my mom, a final opportunity to be there before we moved east to Massachusetts. -- that day, just before we were to drive home, there was a major landslide that blocked the road causing us to have to drive hours out of our way to get back. It was not fixed for weeks and weeks - until after we were out of time to visit - and was joined by other slides in the meantime. If it weren't for mom's birthday, we'd not have been in Big Sur on a random Wednesday in March and we would have missed saying goodbye to our beautiful coastline.

I also meant to post here on Mother's Day, when the memorial brick to be placed at Leaming's Run Garden was finished. Though I have yet to see it in place, the pictures I received of it look lovely. You can see it on my blog here.

And I meant to post here on the one-year anniversary of her passing in June. On that day, also Father's Day this year, my siblings were scattering the last of Bobbie's ashes on my father's grave in New York.

Finally, I am posting here. Four's the charm, I guess. On August 5, I had a little boy named Rhys who will depend on my stories and those of his big brother and others to know his grandmom. You can read his birth announcement here.

Thanks for reading and for remembering with me. Kitty

Memorial at Leaming's Run

 A memorial for Bobbie happened this past weekend at Leaming's Run Garden in Cape May County, NJ. It was just the kind of weather my mom would have loved - cool, breezy, the rain held off just long enough.

The garden we chose for the ceremony was looking really beautiful. We posted excerpts from some of her writing around the garden for people to mill about and read before we gathered - a few that were stories that appeared here, as well as from the other pages of writing she left us. We compiled those snippets along with others and some of her toons into a booklet for people to keep. Essentially, she wrote her own memorial. Part of the ceremony also included positive news bits that have come through in the last couple months on some of my mom's causes over there in the sidebar.

I took this picture of a hummer just after things wrapped up in the garden.
There will soon be a memorial brick with Bobbie's name, dates, and a silhouette of a humming bird in the path at the entrance to Leaming's Run.

I think Bobbie would have loved to have seen Isaac running down the paths of one of her favorite spots.

Peace to you all, Kitty

Article about Bobbie!

The Atlantic City Press has done a little article about my mom in a column called "A Life Lived."

You can find it here.

I'm not sure how long the link will be good, but likely longer than a week, which is always when the links to my freelance articles expire... This writer is an honest to goodness staffer, so let's hope it lasts a while.

The writer, Michelle Post, became interested in writing up Bobbie after reading her obituary which talked about her blog and her causes. It's always tough to tell a thousand stories and see it shrink to a sentence, but such is the business of newspaper and overall I think it's a nice tribute. I'm excited that there is one more bit for the legacy, one more validation of my mom. Boy, do I miss her.

Peace all. Kitty

Memories and Memorials

Dear Bloggers,

Thank you all again and still for your comments and support with the passing of our mom. Memorial posts have so kindly been posted by Dianne, Lily, Daryl, Michelle (in addition to this link, Michelle has posted other dedications as well), Singing Bear, Sylvia, Paz, Harriet, Lisa, and Christine. If I've missed any, please let me know. The blog world has been a loving, dear one for me in these first treacherous weeks.

**I missed Gina's tribute previously. It's here.**

I don't have access to all the photos I'd like to right now, but this is what I've found and hastily scanned. A few shots of Bobbie in her younger days, with her older sister and brother, and the last with her niece. Enjoy.

We are planning a memorial service for September at Leaming's Run Gardens, one of her favorite spots.

Bobbie & Isaac

I've been overwhelmed with the beautiful responses and memorial posts about my mom. Thanks to all. There is still so much to do and on so little sleep. I'd like to get some pictures scanned in that I don't think I've seen her post on here -- like as a young woman with her sister. But for now, here are a few pictures of Bobbie with Isaac from the last three years. Some you may have seen before. Kitty