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My mother would have been 78 years old today, had she not passed away from a very unexpected, very sudden stroke nearly 6 months ago. She went from a healthy, vibrant, active senior, still working out daily and riding her bicycle many miles each week, to comatose within 15 minutes and passing away within a day. There was no warning and no time to say “Goodbye for now”.

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Three generations of Goodwin women

We all know that  our parents will pass away. It’s all part of the circle of life and is nothing surprising- until it happens to us. Then, life as we know it changes forever. Suddenly, we too become mortal.

It’s been nearly 6 months since her passing, and yet, I still can’t remove her birthday from my calendar on my laptop. I think it will be on my calendar forever, not to remind me of the sadness of her passing, but to celebrate the life that she lived. Even though she is gone in a physical sense, I will still celebrate this special day of her birth.

In so many ways, she’s still here with me now. The values that she taught me, the memories that we created together, the conversations that were ours and ours alone….they will be with me forever.

I learned something valuable from my mother almost every time we were together, and her passing is nothing more than another opportunity to learn from her once again.

She taught me that love never dies, that we’ll always be together with those we love, and that life is indeed very short.  She reminded me that life is fleeting and can be gone for any of us in an instant. It’s not something to ever be taken for granted, but rather, something to be truly celebrated.

For that reason, be kind to one another. Never go to sleep angry with anyone. Don’t leave things unsaid that need to be said. Forgive one another and yourself. Love one another as if today could be your last.

So on this day, Happy Birthday Mom. In honor of your birthday, I’m going to plan a special day to celebrate your life by doing something on my bucket list, since you never got to finish yours. Perhaps I’ll be really crazy and go skydiving with my friend Adam, or maybe just go skiing, or hike in the snow at Glacier National Park. No matter what I do, know that you’ll be with me in my heart.

Happy Birthday Mom…. I love you.

 

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Gail Lynne Goodwin is the founder of InspireMeToday.com, bringing the best inspiration to the world. InspireMeToday.com provides free inspiration, each day from a new Inspirational Luminary, to a global community of folks from over 150 countries. Gail has interviewed many well-known names including Sir Richard Branson, Guy Laliberte, Seth Godin, Tony Hseih, Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Gerber, Marci Shimoff, Jack Canfield and hundreds more. According to Mashable, Gail was one of 2009's Top 25 Most Inspirational People on Twitter.

Prior to InspireMeToday.com, Gail spent several years as manager for her recording artist daughter, Carly. As a result of the success of their co-penned song, "Baby Come Back Home", Gail accompanied her daughter to bases in the US and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where Carly performed for our troops. Gail and Carly created the 'World's Longest Letter' of love and support and delivered the 18-mile long scroll on a month-long tour of Iraq and the Persian Gulf in 2006.

Gail is excited to present her latest course, Love in 21 Days, a step-by-step guide to finding love online. Love in 21 Days is founded on a logical process that has been tested - and proven! - by not only Gail, but also by students around the world who too have found love.

Gail is a published author and a regular writer for the Huffington Post. She offers mentoring and mastermind services to clients worldwide from her home in Whitefish, Montana. Follow Gail on Twitter or Google+.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. It is a sweet birthday treat having said that my daughter passed away last year she was 32 then, she has celebrated her 32 birthday although she knows she is not going to live which is very emotional I couldn’t even sing happy birthday and she departed on the 19th day of her birthday. We couldn’t celebrate her birthday after that but we celebrated her departure date as a thanks giving day. It is very difficult when you loose a wonderful person no matter how they move away. My feelings are with you for your mother as well. thank you and my blessings.

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