“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGA!!!!” I cried.
“Thank you, dear! This is Abby, right?”
In my exuberance at finally getting through, I forgot to introduce myself. “Yes, it is!”
“Hi, darling.”
“So, how does it feel?”
“99 feels like too much.”
“Or it feels just right! Did you get some cake today?”
She called out to her nighttime caregiver, who’d kindly moved into the other room to give Maga some privacy on the call. “Did I get cake?”
“You got some tennis shoes and some delicious looking cookies.” Maga reported the same to me, as if I hadn’t heard that entire exchange.
“I’m so happy to hear you’ve got some dessert available. You do have quite the sweet tooth.”
“Yes, I do. Where are you right now?”
“At home. I can’t go anywhere else!”
“Yes, it seems like that’s where everyone is these days. It’s such a shame they had to deny us our dinner party.”
“I know, but we’re all trying to keep each other safe and healthy.”
“Do you feel okay?”
“Yes, so far.”
“How old am I?”
“99.”
“Egads. How can I be that old?”
I cracked up at the exclamation. Such a 99yo thing to say. ;) “Oh, Maga, my friends have been texting me to tell you happy birthday.” (which, by the way friends, A+!!! I had no idea hearing those words would make me so emotional…)
“You have a friend with a birthday today too?”
“No. They’re telling me to tell YOU happy birthday.”
“That’s nice.”
“I thought so.”
“One day all this mess is going to clear up and we’re going to get together to celebrate.”
And just like that my spirits were off the ground and sky high.
“This is a big moment in my life.”
It is indeed. A monumental moment. One I wish I could have celebrated in person, but at least we were able to connect today, and for now, that’s enough.
Abigail Mumford 