Birthdays, Books & Bananas! - ❤ Happy 71st Birthday Mom ❤

Tomorrow is my moms 71st birthday, but it will prove to be a birthday like no other... Firstly, we are in lockdown (duh!) - just like most others - but my mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer so not only is she under STRICT lockdown, but after two months of hormonal treatment and finally deciding to boot them and go the natural CBD route, she also received her new dietary plan today... which has essentially just changed her eating habits 180 degrees.

She came to stay with us at the beginning of lockdown and from that time I have slowly watched her disolve into a terrible state caused mostly by all the pain she has been experiencing - but also just the overall side effects of the meds.

One of the things she has been able to stomach is bananas and so I thought, I would substitute a cake for a banana loaf. Several days ago, I stashed three bananas away in the garage so they could ripen nicely, and had planned to make the banana loaf tonight... but the new eating plan arrived today and after casually asking if she would still eat bananas after knowing that they are not on the guide, she said no... so sadly the bananas had to return to the bowl lol....

Well damn, did I stand here and wrack my brain as to what I could now use as a "cake" - being that it is after "government allocated curfew" so we are not permitted to go anywhere, besides which - all the shops are now closed.

I decided to (attempt to) bring a little humour into the situation regarding this new dietary adventure... and as one of the things which she can eat often is raw tomatoes... hehe... it is lame I know, but my mom has a good sense of humour... I hope haha!

Besides, the blue and red theme of her "cake" goes well with the only remaining balloons which I could find in the house haha... which I have now strung up above the kettle... because that is the first place my mom visits in the morning, to make her tea.

A couple of weeks ago I chatted to the family and said that we should organise something special for her birthday... and the one thing she does not have here is books! My mom is a total book worm and unfortunately, all we have been able to offer her is a bookshelf filled with old war books and non fiction and an old tablet to use as a kindle... neither of which excited her in any way, shape or form! So we all clubbed together and bought her a set of wonderfully FAT novels that she can get stuck into! This is going to be total salvation for my mom!!! - Cannot wait to see the smile on her face when she fans the papers below her nose to smell the books.... hahaha yes, we both do that! lol!!!!

So, the pressie is all wrapped and accompanied by a very clearly heartfelt little hand made card from Jude - which all grannies love! Honestly, I almost wanted to cry when I saw what he wrote inside the card :(

Then finally, as I sat here writing this I suddenly thought "but she doesn't have a bookmark here". I think that bookmarks are an almost sacred addition to a book for any true bookworm... and then I remembered... a few years ago, in my shop - where we used to have our bowl of inspirational and motivational cards on the counter for customers to help themselves to - I found a little gift. Every few days, I would have to top that bowl up because those motivational cards used to fly like hotcakes and whilst doing that I found a little bookmark with a very special message. I have no doubt that it was placed in that bowl intentionally as a little "return gift" of inspiration and so I popped it into my laptop bag and it has been there ever since - now, it can fulfill the gift and purpose it was meant to and also... the message it holds is well, almost serendipitous!

I know that my mom has not felt like herself for a long time now and it is so sad to witness it. I truly hope that our small, quirky lockdown efforts put a smile on her face and lighten her heart... even if it is just a little!