A while ago I was telling FameThrowa about how certain things that I do remind me of certain people. Like, every time I wash the dishes, I think of my Uncle George, because when I was a pre-teen he gave me a long lecture once about how you should always rinse with really hot water, because then the water will evaporate quickly and you can skip the drying step. And making muffins always makes me think of my Aunt Karen, because one time when I was in university I stayed over at her house, and in the morning she made fresh sunshine muffins for me, and filled the cups extra-full to make extra-giant muffins with spectacular muffin-tops.

Springtime reminds me of my mother, especially when it is exactly 9 degrees Celcius outside. Once when I was around 10, I remember I was going somewhere with my mom in the car — these were the days before air bags so I got to ride in the front passenger seat, as it was just the two of us. The DJ on the radio announced that it was 9 degrees, and my mom commented kind of off-hand that she would never get used to the metric system, and that to her, 9 degrees meant cold and snowy, and here we were in light jackets, and it was a beautiful sunny day. And I had no idea what the heck she was talking about really, but the moment just seemed really conspiratorial, like she’d shared some deep secret with me, and the day was so lovely and warm, and it was so nice that it was just the two of us on some special errand, that I’ve always remembered it.

This morning when I checked the weather it was 9 degrees, so…here’s thinking of you, Mom.