I’m especially glad to have my mom present for her birthday today. We came close to losing her twice in the last year–scary, painful experiences, but quite clarifying. It can be difficult to know what someone means to you without experiences like that. The best way I can think to say what I learned in the last year about my mom is that she is the heart and soul of my family and that when she does eventually die, the world she’ll leave us with will be more sad and empty, less rich and inspiring than the world we get to enjoy today.
So today I’m celebrating my mom and her 66 years.
Mom, after Christmas 2014, with Christina & Julian
Mom, after Thanksgiving 2014, also with Christina & Julian
Mom in 1951, with her brother Don.
Nathen's Miraculous Escape 
January 13, 2015 at 8:53 pm
Please wish her a happy birthday from me.
January 22, 2015 at 8:08 pm
Happy Birthday to your mama! 30+ years later and I still get her beautiful songs stuck in my head. I don’t remember much, something about flying, but I do remember her lovely voice. And, now that I have a “house full of boys”myself I’m repeating that poem she recorded.