I miss my mom. That's all I can think about today. Hell, she exasperated me, frustrated me, but whenever I needed her, she was there.

Summer was 'our time.' We would have lunch, shop, go to movies, or simply sit outside and talk while having something cold to drink.  I come from a line of women who like to sit outside, reading, talking, napping, all while having something cold to drink. Our favorite was usually freshly made iced tea, or a diet cola, or, even though she didn't like it, iced water. We'd talk about most everything.

One summer, Mom decided that she wanted to see various parts of Denver, including the state capitol. While she was a Colorado native, there were landmarks she hadn't ever seen or hadn't seen in a long time. So once a week, we'd load up and head someplace she hadn't seen. She was most impressed with the state capitol building, and we spent hours there. That was a great summer because we went to museums and various Denver landmarks. We even went and saw the Italian exhibit at the history museum, which was important to her since she was Italian.

Because my birthday is a summer birthday, one year Mom, my son, and I went to the art museum for the day. She hadn't seen the contemporary art museum, so we started there. At first, she was horrified to see some of the abstract pieces, calling them 'junk.' Then she was shocked by some of the nudes, wanting me to cover my son's eyes so he wouldn't see them. We laughed at a video that didn't make sense to us. We even ate at the museum's fancy restaurant for lunch. In the end, though, she talked about how much fun she'd had, even if she hadn't particularly liked the nudes.

My mom also had a summer birthday, so one year I took her to get her ears doubl- pierced because she felt like she was ready to have them done. I think she was 68 that year. I bought her some aquamarines and off to Claire's we went. She wore those earrings for awhile, but then she decided that an 'old' lady looked silly with double piercings. I always wished she had continued to wear those earrings. Now I wear them and in my double-piercings.

For her birthday last year, I surprised her with a trip to Evergreen. She didn't want anything for her birthday; in fact, she didn't want any of us to acknowledge it. I simply couldn't ignore her birthday, so we went to Evergreen and had lunch at Beau Jo's, a place neither of us had been in years. We shopped around in some of the kitzchy stores, ate ice cream in Morrison, and then came home. She told me she'd had a great day and was genuinely happy that day.

It just seemed like she knew when I needed her most. She'd call out of the blue and we'd end up having lunch at Chick-fil-A. Or Taco Bell. I'd do something to my house or garden, call her up, and she'd come over to see what was different. Naturally, we'd end up sitting outside, having a cold drink.

Today I painted the potting table my husband made me, and I went into the house to call her. But she's not there. So I sat outside by myself today, having a cold drink, listening to the birds instead.