On the road again: Portland, day 4

I'm way past crispy, and I have to get up to shower and head to the airport well before sunrise, so I'm going to keep this short.  I could best describe today as work, work, more work, work, a little work, and some more work, with some work for dessert. 

The only non-work part of the day was a delightful dinner at Le Pigeon.  Today I met a fellow foodie who to my surprise didn't care for this restaurant, but my meal was excellent, and Le Pigeon remains one of my all-time favorite places to eat. 

Today would have been my mother's eighty-first birthday.  I wish she was still alive.  I miss her terribly.  I expect I always will, but for no particular reason, I feel the loss acutely today.  It took me years to tell her that I loved her, and then I did it by rote at the end of each call for several years before her death.  I'd give a lot to get to say it to her one more time, with real feeling, so maybe I could erase her constant insecurity that I didn't really love her.  As a parent, I deeply understand that insecurity, but for her it was unnecessary; I did love her, more than I could tell her, more than I ever did tell her.

I love you, Mom.