Happy Birthday to My Mother

Today my mother, Audrey Meinzen Doyle, would have turned 95 if she were still with us. She passed away in 1997 at the age of 82, 10 years after my father died.

This is such a fuzzy, hazy, faded photo, taken when color photographs were new and cut down from a group shot. And yet, despite the off-color and the lack of clarity, I like it quite a lot. There are plenty of photos of Mom when she was an infant, a child, a teen, a young adult; during her courting days alone and with my father; during the early years of their marriage; and even a few taken when she was older. But there are very, very few photos of her in middle age.

Mom liked bouquets of fresh flowers, the color blue, poetry, and clean sheets. I heard her comment more than once that she loved fresh, clean, crisp sheets on her bed and would have had them every night if she could. No doubt she would have liked them hung out to dry in the fresh air and sunshine, too - by someone else - if that luxury had been available.

I'd send you bouquets today, Mom, if you were still here. I hope you're having a grand celebration with Dad, Gramma and Grampa, and the rest of the family. Happy Birthday! I love you.