Old Soul, Young Heart

EZ Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe from: Pantagraph Ingredients for cake: 1 box yellow cake mix 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding 2/3 cup oil 1 cup water 4 eggs Ingredients for topping: 1 ½ cup sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 cup chopped nuts Directions: Mix cake ingredients and pour into a greased 13x9 pan Pour the topping ingredients onto cake mix Swirl with a knife Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until done I've never made this before and I don't think I've ever tried it myself either. It was good! I had a coworker say it was the best cake she's ever had and it melted in her mouth, so it must've been decent. 😂 And very EZ to make, indeed!

This time of year has become increasingly difficult for me. The couple of weeks leading up to Mother's Day and then the actual day on Sunday--it's a lot. Advertisements for gift ideas in my email, on tv, in the stores, on social media. The card aisle lined with glittery pink and purple designs filled with words I wish I could say to my mom. The posts on social media from friends and companies. I dread it and just want the day to be over. You'd think it would get easier as time goes on, but grief is a funny thing. Hilarious , in fact. The past two years on the Saturday before Mother's Day I've participated in a Zoom call for motherless daughters, hosted by Hope Edelman who authored a book many years ago by that name. I was so moved last year to be in the company of hundreds of women who get what it is to lose their mom, whether it was 60 years ago or just a few weeks ago. In the call this year, Hope suggested that we think about a characteristic of our mom that we...