Happy 89th Mom!

Today I am grateful for the reminders to be present and not take myself or life too seriously all the time. I am also grateful for my mom and the many lives she has touched. 

My mom turns 89 years old today. She was born on February 20, 1931 and named Gertrude Helen. 

This week's blogging is about pictures I guess, so here are a couple more. The first one is Mom, around age six. I can really see my young face in her young face.  The second picture was taken on my 54th birthday last July at my nephew's wedding. Mom with  the "baby girl" of her eight daughters. I have two younger brothers too, along with three older ones. 

Needless to say, there are plenty of people around to wish Mom a happy birthday. Her sons and daughters, daughters-in law and sons-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, in-laws, extended family, friends, neighbors. Her life has touched and been touched by so many others in her nearly nine decades of living. 

I am thinking of my sister Mary Jo today. This is Mom's first birthday since Mary Jo died last June. It brings me a smile to consider Dad and Mary Jo conspiring on some level today to make Mom's day special. Dad and Mary Jo, I miss you both. 

It's not a sure thing Mom even registers that it's her birthday today. There is sadness in witnessing her decline. Her eyesight and hearing waning. Her memory less and less reliable. Her walking slowed. 

Today is about honoring her, in her current state, and in that young child's face below. She has had abundant gifts and numerous challenges. I have lacked a real closeness to my mom, but in recent years I have gained a deeper respect and broader sense of compassion for who she is and who she is not. 

I have a lot of my mom in me, and I am grateful for that. We are both workers, writers, walkers, and wonderers. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you and hope you have a special day!