A mother's ring for Riley's memory

Last November my mother and I were talking about Riley and his untimely death.  I told her about another woman who had lost her child to stillbirth whose friend had given her a ring with her daughter's birthstone on it to remember her by.  My mom thought that was such a lovely idea and offered to do the same for Riley.  We talked about doing it for Christmas, but with shipping delays, etc, it didn't work out.  And then she died.

I thought about that ring often.  A few weeks ago I told my dad about this conversation between my mom and I and he said he would like to buy that ring for me for my birthday (which is tomorrow) from my mom.

The ring arrived today and it's beautiful.  It's got Riley's birthstone and has his name engraved on one side, and his birth date on another. It's so lovely and such a great way for me to remember him.

So tomorrow is my birthday.  My first birthday without my mom. It's hard, knowing she won't be calling me tomorrow. That I can't share my current life experiences with her.  I'll be 34 tomorrow.  She was 43 when she had me.  Kind of ironic, isn't it?  That our ages are inverted?  I miss her so much. And I miss Riley so much. Oh gosh, what a year it's been.  I truly hope my 34th year is one filled with happiness and joy.