Ramona’s Best Ever Birthday
April 25
The trial deciding who got custody of Ramona was not going well for her father. In despair, he jumped out the courtroom window. Men stopped him, but it didn’t matter since he was only on the second floor and soft bushes ringed the building.
April 25
The trial deciding who got custody of Ramona was not going well for her father. In despair, he jumped out the courtroom window. Men stopped him, but it didn’t matter since he was only on the second floor and soft bushes ringed the building.
 |
| Ramona |
Theatrics like that convinced the judge that this was no run of the mill custody trial. For her well-being, he temporarily sent Ramona to a children’s home. Her fourth birthday was a few days later and she had no party.
Each year Ramona wished for a normal party where kids brought presents, she blew out candles and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” One year she got the singing part. Her mother took her to a local bar where patrons sang Happy Birthday to her all evening. That wasn’t what Ramona had in mind.
Ramona spent several years at a Catholic boarding school. Each year on her birthday, nuns brought out a small after dinner cake with ice cream. The events lasted maybe ten minutes and they were not what she had dreamed of. Never having an iconic birthday party left a void in her life.
The void was still there years later when the Hammer family took her to a restaurant for her birthday. Lori and I were at one end of the restaurant table separated from Ramona, Matt, Sam, Mike and Steve at the other. Matt showed Ramona a card trick and Steve showed her another. Giggling, Mike and Sam showed Ramona their tricks. The four boys took turns telling jokes and they all laughed. Ramona’s clear easy laughter floated to the rafters.
Walking in, they were a grandmother, a son-in-law and three grandsons. Soon they were five kids who couldn’t stop laughing at each other, at themselves and at life. All four boys lightly competed for Ramona’s attention and she loved every microsecond of it.
Ramona had a knack for making others laugh. That night others made her laugh. Laughing together creates an intimacy of the spiritual kind and that’s what Ramona and her boys had that evening.
During her birthday party Ramona had no doctor visits, no cancer bumps, no waiting for medical test results, no chemotherapy and no radiation treatments. Instead, she had four happy handsome boys who loved her very much and who made her laugh.
Later through wet eyes, Ramona declared that it was her best birthday ever. The void in her life was gone. Five months after the party she left to make the angels laugh. Last I heard, she had them rolling in the aisles.
Happy Birthday Ramona --
from her husband, Ron Osterberg
Each year Ramona wished for a normal party where kids brought presents, she blew out candles and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” One year she got the singing part. Her mother took her to a local bar where patrons sang Happy Birthday to her all evening. That wasn’t what Ramona had in mind.
Ramona spent several years at a Catholic boarding school. Each year on her birthday, nuns brought out a small after dinner cake with ice cream. The events lasted maybe ten minutes and they were not what she had dreamed of. Never having an iconic birthday party left a void in her life.
The void was still there years later when the Hammer family took her to a restaurant for her birthday. Lori and I were at one end of the restaurant table separated from Ramona, Matt, Sam, Mike and Steve at the other. Matt showed Ramona a card trick and Steve showed her another. Giggling, Mike and Sam showed Ramona their tricks. The four boys took turns telling jokes and they all laughed. Ramona’s clear easy laughter floated to the rafters.
Walking in, they were a grandmother, a son-in-law and three grandsons. Soon they were five kids who couldn’t stop laughing at each other, at themselves and at life. All four boys lightly competed for Ramona’s attention and she loved every microsecond of it.
Ramona had a knack for making others laugh. That night others made her laugh. Laughing together creates an intimacy of the spiritual kind and that’s what Ramona and her boys had that evening.
During her birthday party Ramona had no doctor visits, no cancer bumps, no waiting for medical test results, no chemotherapy and no radiation treatments. Instead, she had four happy handsome boys who loved her very much and who made her laugh.
Later through wet eyes, Ramona declared that it was her best birthday ever. The void in her life was gone. Five months after the party she left to make the angels laugh. Last I heard, she had them rolling in the aisles.
Happy Birthday Ramona --
from her husband, Ron Osterberg
No comments:
Post a Comment