My mom would have been 74 today. This picture is from six years ago when we went to the Thanksgiving Point gardens for the first time. It was such a magical day–the weather was perfect, the spring bulbs were in full bloom, and we explored and explored.

I have a bouquet of hyacinths on the table today for her. It rained in the night and she would have loved that, gloating about how green her garden would be. I still think about the Cheryl Strayed letter I posted last year on her birthday: “How lucky I am to have been her daughter. To still be. To feel her shimmering in my bones with every step.”

Happy birthday, Mom. We miss you.