Monday, January 21, 2008

Feast of Madelyn

Today, Monday January 21st, marks 6 years since my sweet wonderful momelet left this world. My mom was pretty much the greatest person I ever knew, and although I didn't realize it until after she was gone, she was also my best friend. At her memorial services (yes, we had two, and both were standing room only), both my aunt and uncle also said she was their best friend. And in the little book I put out at the services for people to write memories of mom that I could keep and reread later, nearly everyone who contributed said that mom made them feel like her best friend from the moment they met her. That's the kind of person she was.

The most memorable and salient quality of my mom, besides being best friends with everyone she ever met, is that she loved a good party. She loved to get together with friends, eat, laugh, drink and generally have a good time. She threw legendary parties since long before I was born. Even the most modest get-together was more fun with my mom in attendance.

The past few years I've made an effort to celebrate mom's life on this day because otherwise it would just be too sad, and I'd miss her too much. I pretty much miss her every day but especially on this one. So tonight, in honor of mom, we are going to celebrate the holiday I made up, the Feast of Madelyn (thanks to my buddy Lo, who was with me on the phone and facilitated the naming process). We are going bowling at Mahall's. It was The Professor's great idea, because I didn't get it together to plan something fancier, and a perfect one since mom used to bowl in a league. I had envisioned an event at the Cleveland Wine School learning about wine and food pairing like we did for the Ladies Who Launch meeting in November (mom would have loved that), but they were closed this weekend and I'm attached to celebrating on or near this exact date. Maybe we'll do that next year. Tonight, though, it will be great to see some friends and goof around at the bowling alley. I feel so grateful to everyone who is planning to come. They help me keep the memory of my mom alive, even though none of them ever got to meet her.

If you are far away and want to celebrate with us in solidarity, why not go bowling with some friends tonight, have a great time, and raise a glass to Madelyn, Queen of the Party Girls.

4 comments:

  1. Here's to Madelyn, on this her Feast Day. And to you, who honors her memory in this lovely day.
    Yesterday would have been my Dad's birthday. We lost him in July.
    So as I raise a glass to Madelyn, I also send my love to Paul.

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  2. Wonderful idea, Darc! I only got to meet your mom a couple of times, but she certainly was super. Many cheers to her (and to you)!

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  3. This is a really sweet post. You were lucky to have such an incredible mother and it is sad that you've lost her physical presence. I love the idea of a celebration of her life and person!

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