A happy birthday card.

I’m very happy I got to spent Christmas with Joel — she was a December 25th baby,

and in the Schmidt family it was always morning was devoted to Joel’s birthday then Xmas came later.

I got her a card this year that lit up and sang — and she loved it.

Little did I know … that would be her last birthday/Christmas …  I’m glad I was there.

Just as Joel always ‘lit up’  with joy — she shared her happiness with all of us, always, and I still miss her.

She wrote me  a ‘Thank You’ for the sweater & purses I gave her, and I’ll always keep her last note so I have

something palpable with her name on it…

—

(What got me thinking about her?   Tonight at the Chinese restaurant, a young man with Down Syndrome came in —

and I smiled at him, then realized, I wish I was smiling at Joel…

I had a flash of how I’ll never get to see Joel walk into a room again…

and it made me sad.)

I’m trailing off… Joel is in my heart, and her final “Thank You’ is in my special file.