HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA! I LOVE YOU!

Here’s a letter from Daddy to you…

IT’S THE EVE OF YOUR BIRTHDAY. YOU’LL BE 62 TOMORROW. YOU KNOW I AM SLOWLY LOSING MY MEMORY. I TRIED TO THINK OF WHAT I HAD FOR BREAKFAST YESTERDAY AND IN FACT I DON’T REMEMBER IF I ATE BREAKFAST YESTERDAY. BUT I CAN REMEMBER THE DAY WE MET. IT WAS FEB 14th 1974 WHEN I SAW YOU AT SAMS PLACE IN UDORN,THAILAND. I CAN’T REMEMBER THE TIME BECAUSE WHEN I SAW YOU ALL TIME STOPPED. I REMEMBER YOU HAD ON A WHITE COTTON SKIRT WITH YELLOW AND PINK FLOWERS ON IT AND YOU HAD ON A PINK TOP WITH LACE AROUND THE SELVES AND NECK LINE. AND THOSE SHOES! YOU WERE ONLY 4 FOOT 8 INCHES TALL AND WEIGHED ONLY 78 LBS BUT WITH THOSE 4 INCH PLATFORM SHOES ON YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL. WHEN I SAW YOU I KNEW THEN THAT I WOULD SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU. YOU COULDN’T SPEAK OR UNDERSTAND A WORD OF ENGLISH BUT YOU KNEW WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY. I LOVE THE WAY YOU SAID “YEA RIGHT” OR “WHAT EVER”. WHEN I’D ASK YOU WHY YOU MARRIED ME YOU’D SAY “I DON’T KNOW” IN THAT BROKEN ENGLISH YOU SPOKE. IN THE 36 YEARS WE WERE TOGETHER WE “NEVER” HAD A FIGHT. I LEARNED IN THE FIRST DAYS OF MARRIAGE 3 LITTLE WORDS THAT KEPT US TOGETHER AND THAT WAS “YOU’RE RIGHT HONEY”. I MOST REMEMBER YOUR SMILE. IT DIDN’T MATTER HOW YOU FELT OR HOW BAD A DAY WAS GOING YOU WOULD ALWAYS HAVE THAT SMILE. WHEN YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEY SAID YOU WOULD NEVER WAKE UP, YOU DID. FOR JUST A FEW HOURS. I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE LAST WORDS YOU SPOKE TO ME,”I LOVE YOU TOO” AND THEN YOU WENT BACK INTO A COMA. THE HARDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE WAS LAYING BESIDE YOU IN THE HOSPITAL BED HOLDING YOUR LEFT HAND IN MY LEFT HAND AND SAYING, IT’S OK YOU CAN GO NOW,YOUR MOMMA AND DADDY ARE WAITING FOR YOU. WITH THOSE WORDS YOU TOOK YOUR LAST BREATH AND PART OF MY SOUL WITH YOU. WHAT WILL I REMEMBER TOMORROW? I DON’T KNOW BUT YOU CAN BE SURE I’LL NEVER FORGET THE BRIEF TIME I HAD YOU ON THIS EARTH. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY MEMORIES AND I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER. I’LL SEE YOU SOON FOR YOU KNOW A DAY IN HEAVEN IS YEARS HERE ON EARTH. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY, I LOVE YOU!