Today is my mother's birthday (mine was two days ago). This is one of the few times of year when I feel that extreme ache to be back out East. I wish I could be there to take her out to dinner, go shopping, bake a cake, watch a movie.... It's not that we ever really made a big deal out of our birthdays. It's just that we always do something... you know?

And sometimes, a phone call just doesn't cut it.