A Letter to Heaven: Happy Birthday, Mom

“The bond between us didn’t break; it just found a new way to speak.”

There are moments when love reaches across worlds, quiet, invisible threads that connect hearts no matter the distance between them. Today is one of those days.

This piece is dedicated to my mom, Yvonne, who would have been celebrating her birthday today. It’s the second birthday we have spent on opposite sides of the spectrum since she crossed over from this world to the next, and though time has passed, the love has only deepened. What follows is my letter to her, a conversation between Earth and Heaven, between grief and grace, between mother and daughter.

Dear Mom,

Today would have been your birthday, your second one in Heaven. It still doesn’t feel real to write that. Two years since cancer took your body, but not your light. Not the laughter that echoes when the house gets quiet. Not the warmth that finds me when I need it most.

This evening, I bought you a slice of cake. I lit a candle and watched the flame dance, imagining you smiling somewhere beyond the veil. Your angel figurine sat beside it, the same one that has followed me from home to home, a small reminder that love travels with us.

I whispered, “Happy Birthday, Mom,” into the air, and for a moment, it felt like you were right there. I could hear you laughing at how terrible we all sound singing the birthday song, a joyful laugh that could light up any room.

Tonight, I’m making one of your dinners, the one you used to cook for us on Fridays when we were kids. The smell alone brings you back to me.  Green onions and garlic sautéing, the anticipation of taco night still excites me.  Remembering how you made your tostadas and put too many toppings on, and they would cover your nose each time.  It’s funny how memory lives in the senses: how a taste, a song, or the sound of the wind through the orange trees can carry me right back to you.

You taught me so much about love, how to show up even when life gets hard, how to find beauty in the ordinary, how to give until it fills a room. You loved loudly, honestly, and with your whole heart. And even though I can’t see you, I still feel that love every single day.

As the sun sets tonight, I’ll step outside and let the sky wrap around me. I’ll look for you in the colors, in that tender moment where day turns to night. You always loved sunsets at the beach, maybe because they remind us that endings can be beautiful, too.

Another year passes, Mom, but your presence never fades. You’re in the way my kids laugh, in the way I care for others, in the way I’m learning to care for myself.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom. I hope the stars are throwing you a celebration big enough for your spirit. Thank you for still finding ways to show up, in signs, in dreams, in the quiet moments when I need you most.

I love you endlessly,

Jaime 

🕊️ For anyone missing someone in Heaven tonight, light a candle, say their name, and send your love into the stars. They hear you. They always do.

#WritingThroughGrief #HealingThroughLove #TheHealingThreshold #LettersOfLight #GriefSupport #SoulConnection #EnergyOfLove #LifeAfterLoss #RememberingYvonne #HealingStory