Friday, January 25, 2008

Forever Young


Becky would have turned 40 today. The very idea would have appalled her to no end, but I still wish she was here so I could listen to her complain about it. It is hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since we celebrated her 39th birthday by having dinner at Devi near Union Square where we mostly talked about what to name our little friend whose arrival was (correctly) thought to be imminent. I wrote about the actual dinner in some detail for a blog posting. You can read it by clicking here. It has been a difficult year for those of us left to struggle on without her, but life, as they say, goes on. I take some solace in the fact that even in her absence, Becky has taught me a good deal about many things, including what it means to be a good father. She was many things in her life, but a teacher first among them. She taught both by example and by getting you to look at yourself in a way that somehow brought your hazy confusion about your life into tight focus. She was clearly one of the most unselfish people to ever walk this earth and gave of herself constantly. A true bodhisattva. So, I would rather celebrate the day of her birth than spend undue time thinking about the day she was taken from us. I think she would agree. Happy birthday my dear. You are missed.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You wrote a wonderful tribute! Thanks for showing me another wonderful view of Becky. Mom Z

Anonymous said...

Well written Mark. You are right, today we celebrate life!
Kris

Anonymous said...

In Alaska, thinking of you and Jack and Becky and not surprised to see her on your blog, "up a tree", enjoying life. Thanks for the sharing. I hope we can all follow her good example.

Anonymous said...

You have to be a very special person to have been able to learn the lessons of BECKY. Jack will surely benefit from your insight. Hope these difficult days will soon be outnumbered by days filled with only joy. Loving Thoughts to you both, Mindy

martin j. cummins said...

Happy Birthday, Beck!

Anonymous said...

That is a tremendous picture of Becky, perhaps the best I've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

Mark, what a great picture of Becky! Your thoughts are written beautifully. It's hard to believe a year has gone by. I'm sure that Jack has kept you busy. He is such a cutie! Mary Ann

Anonymous said...

You really captured the essence of Becky for those of us lucky enough to have known her. Last year on January 22nd, she and I celebrated our birthdays together at Bolo and she talked about her hopes for the as-yet unnamed baby. He is so beautiful, and she would be so proud.
- Rebecca

Anonymous said...

It's been 20 years since you worked at that muffler joint and the two of you started officially dating. Great Post. Happy Birthday Becky, you guys are on my mind this week.