It’s that time of year.
I’m not religious; but I feel reflective around the holidays.
If you’re Jewish you know what I mean by the Book of Life. If you’re not Jewish here’s the deal : According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashanah, God inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into a book, called the Book of Life. The verdict is “sealed” on Yom Kippur. During the days of Awe, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other people.
On Yom Kippur, Jews fast; confess their sins privately and publicly; and hope for forgiveness; hope that once again they are written into the Book of Life.
I feel beyond grateful that I’ve been written in the book so many times.
My mom wasn’t so lucky.
Her name wasn’t written the year she was 41.
Ironically, the older I get, the more I feel her loss. Maybe that’s because I’m more aware of my own mortaility. Even more than the loss of what she had, I feel the loss of what she didn’t have, in all those years since she stopped being written In the book of life.
Maybe that’s one reason when I started this blog, I instinctively started to post something about her on this date every year.
Because today is her birthday. And for me, remembering her here is my way of writing the name Marcella Pollack into the Book of Life, in a metaphorical way.
Thank you for helping me keeping her memory alive.
Yes, she was beautiful, but far more inside than out.
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Wow! I thought the bottom photo was Carla. Happy birthday Marcella.
This gave me chills. From this day forward, I’ll always remember your mother.
Take heart… She was written eternally into the book…
Oh, but this was beautiful.
We are our mothers and they are us.
Oh, what a loss…and what a lifetime of memories she was robbed of. What a beautiful tribute to you lovely mom.
Will tell Carla. Thanks so much, Julie.
I’m so touched to read that this touched you, Janie. Deepest appreciation.
I think so; I think we all are as long as our memories are kept alive. Thank you Dennis.
She was a beautiful beautiful soul, truly. Thanks, Amanda, so much.
Perfectly said. As usual. xxxoo
Thank you, Sherri; I think that’s why it just gets harder for me the older I get and the more I can take in how much she missed. xxxoo
Beautiful tribute to your Mom. I haven’t seen Carla since 3rd grade but the last picture so reminded me of her. Wonderful memories…
So poignantly put, reminding me again of a woman I was never fortunate enough to have met but whose eyes … and heart … I’ve seen in all her kids and her soul that I continue to learn about through the exquisite words of her first child. You remind once again how fortunate I am to still have mother in my life, my mother whose birthday is just three days before your mother’s. She has just begun her 97th year and I am very soon heading back across the Atlantic to spend more time with her. Thank you for your thoughts this day.
Lovely post, Darryl. What is the quote: “They say you die twice, once with the last breath you take, and again when the last person says your name” or something like that. In any event, your Mother will live a very long time.