Seventy years ago today, my mom was born. Full of laughter, creativity, kindness, an inquisitive nature and a unique ability to always do her own thing, my mom has had an effect on everyone she met. Of course, I have only known her half of her life, and those who are fortunate to know her longer have their own stories to tell, but these are some of my favorites.
• Painting the entire house with an oyster shucker and 2.5 inch brush
• Always making sure I made/baked Christmas gifts every year for my bus driver, teacher and principal
• Calling the school so I could wear my ERA t-shirt to school at age seven, even though it had the word “sex” on it.
• Picking up me and my friend and our dates in the RV from the spring dance. We sat in the empty high school parking lot and feasted on pizza and gummy bears.
• Buying us Oreos when my dad went out of town, despite the ban that befell our household
• Braiding my hair with different colored yarn every day
• Always picking up the phone at 3AM (or whatever the time) so I can rattle on about World War 2, existentialism, or whatever it is that comes to my mind that early in the morning
• Trying to explain the facts of life to me curtsey of an obese cow
• Singing and playing the piano for all of my dates, just so I could gauge their mortification
• Teaching me words and pronunciations that don’t exist, to which I still struggle with today
• Making me two phenomenal Elvis quilts
• Letting me speak my mind in front of her friends, although she rarely agreed with me
• Singing like Marylyn Monroe at my wedding
• Not caring when we named her croqueted afghans “Monkey Puke” and “Rhino Shit.”
• Always finding a way to laugh about the situation
• Grinding the household to a complete stop whenever she works on a new puzzle
• Letting me read whatever I wanted, no matter what my age, except books that had Satan in them
• Lying to the principal of the all-girls Catholic boarding school I went to so I could wear moccasins instead of penny loafers
• Installing in me the value of thank-you cards
• Allowing my lamb, General MacArthur to sleep in the utility room
• Having a ring made for me out of my great-grandmother’s favorite opal earring
• Buying me my first book of poems for my first birthday
• Teaching me this: You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar and Treat others the way you want to be treated
These are but a few of the special qualities that make up my mom.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you!
posted by The Green Clover @ 5:59 AM
2 Comments:
I met Lillian at the wedding. I can honestly say I’ve never met a more selfless and giving person in my life. She has a heart of gold. When I moved to Oregon and faced my first Christmas alone in the Pacific Northwest, Lillian and Howard allowed me to join their family celebration. I drove up in my new RV and camped out on their lawn. It was so warm and pleasant. Not only was there room for me, but my two cats were welcomed as well. It was about the time the Lord of the Rings trilogy was coming out and I remember mentally comparing Lillian to Galadriel the elf queen. She must indeed possess a ring of power. Happy Birthday Lillian.
I loved reading your 'Happy Birthday, Mom" tribute! She's a warm, beautiful woman, whose essence you captured beautifully. I've come to know her gradually over the years, enjoying her kindness,sincerity and wonderful sense of humor ... a rare gem (and I mean that sincerely). It will be a privilege to personally wish her "Happy Birthday" at an Open House later today.
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