Mother’s Day 2011

What a nice Mother’s Day.  Kyra and I cooked all my favorites together and we had a delicious family brunch.  I decided to use my mother’s “good” China which she gave me years ago, in honor of her on this beautiful Mother’s Day.

My uncle (my mom’s brother) gave the complete set to her as a wedding present, so many years ago.  He was stationed overseas during the war and bought her the full set with 12 place settings and all the serving platters as his wedding gift.  It was a huge luxury back then, and I don’t think my parents would have been able to afford them if he hadn’t made this extravagant gift.  They have an engraving on the back:  Fukagama, Arita, Hand Painted, with a little symbol of Mt. Fuji (I tried to take a picture of it, but it came out too blurry).

I always loved these dishes when we were growing up, and when I got old enough to have my own place, my mother gave the set to me.  They have very ornate, hand painted gold filigree around the edges – so unlike my current lifestyle, but I love them.  They’ve held up over the years, and very few have broken, since they came to live with me.

Last year at this time, I had just had Chemo #3, my hair had just come out and I was wearing a wig.  I looked at pictures from that day and I was so thin.  They always say you can never be too rich, or too thin, but they’re wrong.  I was way too thin and looked really weak.

So….what a celebration today is!  Not only am I done with all that, but I’m strong and healthy and feel like my old self.  I’ve been wig free for months and my hair is slowly but surely coming back.   Happy Mother’s Day!