Dad's Birthday - Sept 7

September 7th would have been Dad's 95th birthday. I felt raw inside - I think it was because this was the first birthday of Dad's since he's been gone that I really got to grieve. After all, Mom is gone so there's no one to prop up emotionally on this day except myself.

Dad loved ripe tomatoes and, quite interestingly, although I hated tomatoes for the longest time, the year he died, I started to crave them. So, on his birthday this year, I piled tuna fish on bread and added a slice of an heirloom tomato which was growing in the garden. Dad would have been proud! Not only that but I honestly think this particular tomato was the sweetest tomato I've ever tasted. Sharyn agreed. So, in our own way, we toasted Dad (pun intended) with a tomato sandwich. I also spent a fair amount of time in his garden sprucing it up for the fall. His garden did beautifully this year - probably because I had more time to tend it.

I've been back to writing at Squidoo and my fortune continues to grow. I love free money! Here's a few of my latest articles:

A year of firsts - surviving the first year after the death of a loved one.

Senior citizen gift ideas - from one who knows.

Practical gifts for the very elderly senior citizen.

Caregiver stress - what it felt like to me.

My mother, myself the art of turning into my own mother.

Daily living aids for the handicapped or disabled.