Rock and sand
She is a woman of character. She gives opinions as easily as one blinks. She is firm. She has a strong body and a stronger mind. She is the one and only rock in my life. I can hold on to her whenever the wind blows a little wilder, whenever i get the shivers, whenever i need to feel reality again. She is my mother.

But that amazing woman is also a delicate person who can show her frailty once in a blue moon. That's exactly what happened last week. She had to go under surgery and things didn't go exactly as we expected.

While she was slowly recovering from the anesthesia, the rock turned into light sand for a split second. She held her hand out to mine, she tried to break into a smile. I was disarmed. Strength and sweetness blended into one.

The woman of character is back in town, enjoying the "relative repose" prescribed by her doctor. It's her birthday today, so the Mountain Family and myself are taking her out to dinner. The rock and the sand deserve the best.