Happy Birthday x 2!

I've been so busy with Madeline and preparing for her birthday and our upcoming travel to Disney that I haven't had much time to think about the significance of this date. Yes, today is Madeline's 3rd birthday (I'll post more about that later), yes, it's election day (I'll leave that for my brothers at Mazurland to blog about), but it is also my Mom's birthday.

This morning, as I was making David's lunch and was mindlessly spreading mayo on his turkey sandwich, I had a few quiet moments to think about this date. What a special occasion birthdays are. I wonder how we would've celebrated if mom were here. As sad as I could let these thoughts make me, I was at peace. My mom was battling cancer as David and I were going through the adoption process. Mom wanted nothing more than to be here to meet Madeline. She was able to see pictures and video of Maddie after our first trip to Russia but died only 18 days before leaving for our trip to bring Madeline home. The gift that was given to us was the knowledge that Madeline and my mom shared their birth date. I can still vividly remember the smile on my mom's face as I reminded her of that during her last days. Mom, you are with us in so very many ways today. And as I told you during your last days with us, November 4th will be so special to me for more than one reason. Happy Birthday, Mom!