This post is a little late. On the Shloshim I'd like to remember you, the way that you were.
It's the little things about us that make us.
Ma, you loved
Hot coffee
Really hot
With a bit of cream
Just a bit
Chips
Nuts
While your teeth were still good
Never soup
You made it but
It wasn't your favorite.
But it was mine
Because of you I am a soup maker
Meatballs
Crispy fried chicken
Failed sponge cakes
Maybe you really enjoyed your drink more than the food?
Cake and candy
Till the very end cake was
A favorite
Hoarding chocolates
In your drawers and freezer
You are like a horse and a bird at the same time
Eating like a horse but
A universe of time to finish your
Tuna sandwich
Choking on the salad dressing
Sputter
cough
Eyes weeping
Dad screaming
"Irma, what's the matter with you?"
You were a member of
The clean plate club
Finish every morsel
Long after everyone has left the table
In younger years
Better years
You and dad would sit
Coffee in hand
Newspaper spread on the table
Sharing the news
Cutting coupons
Planning your life
Those were the days
I want to remember you in those days
Vital
Warm
Energetic
So I will toast you today
And everyday going forward
L'chayim, ma.
To you
To dad
You fortified us
Nourished us in so many ways
Thank you
