Yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of VE-Day. It was also the 10th anniversary of my mother's death--she died near midnight between the 7th and the 8th.
Nazi Germany decided, by surrendering, the date of VE-Day. The coroner, who in Oklahoma is always summoned to a death that occurs outside a private home, decided my mother's death day.
But when did the war--for either of them--really end?
War historians can mark turning points of the war in Europe. I suppose a physician, or possibly my father, could pinpoint the dates when my mother lost significant abilities.
And yet. There are dates. And I have to say, it's nice to have a specific date to hang an event on.
That may sound odd, given that one doesn't "celebrate" death anniversaries in the same way one celebrates birthdays or the end of a war. And having a set day of remembrance doesn't mean you don't miss someone on another (or, say, EVERY OTHER) day, or that on May 9 everyone in Europe yawned and said, "What's next?"
My point is that it's nice to have before-and-afters. I still enjoy shades of gray, I remain leery of black-and-white thinking--but some boundaries and borders are useful. Even when they don't take the form of a line, but of a point. Like a date on a calendar. Like yesterday. Or today, Mother's Day.
Happy celebration, whatever it is you're celebrating.
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A U.S. writer living in Canada examines borders, boundaries, and other invisible (though not imaginary) lines.
