The beach

For my mom's birthday earlier this month I gave her a popup card. It's a beach scene - two beach chairs in the sand, with a book and some drinks. When you push a button at the top it makes beach sounds - waves crashing and seagulls squawking.

She loved this card. I gave it to her before breakfast and she had me put it in front of her so she could look at it while she ate. She put it on the table next to her so she could push the button whenever she wanted. Most of the time she would forget about the button, though, so whenever I would push it she'd be confused for a second and then she'd remember the card and smile.

My mom loved the beach. My parents used to go to Monterey at least once a year, their little vacation. And earlier, when she could still leave the house, the one place she wanted to go was to the beach, so we took her there.

I took this card off my mom's table yesterday and put it by my bed. Whenever I push the button and hear the ocean and the seagulls I think of her love for the beach and her smile every time she re-remembered it when I pushed the button. Hearing it makes me think, and hope, that she's sitting on a beach somewhere, whole again, sipping on a drink, reading a book and smiling at me.