81 is a Beautiful Number

My mom, Ethel, is amazing.

There is no other way for me to describe her.

She is like the come back kid.

Five years ago we didn't think she was going to survive cancer.  She almost didn't.  Two years ago with the same cancer recurring, we were not sure that she would be with us for her 80th  birthday.  I'm never really sure each year going forward from 2008 what will happen anymore.  Even though cancer is in remission, it can be such an unpredictable thing.  So, I treat each birthday, each Christmas, each holiday as if it's our last. I just want to always make the moments count for her.  And for us.

And my miracle mom is still with us.  

And we celebrated "81 plus", as she called it today.  And no she does not look 81.

She's lived 61 years with Type 1 diabetes with no major complications like blindness, lost limbs or kidney disease.  She always took extremely good care of herself all of those years.  Even doing so many things right, Type 1 has taken a toll on her body in other ways, but she is doing amazingly well for a diabetic.  A cancer survivor 3 different times..... I just look at her sometimes as tiny as she is and I just shake my head. 

God amazes me year after year with his goodness and mercy. Thank you Lord for my mom and for the example she's always been to me.

I am blessed.  And those of us that love and cherish her are blessed.  

I will continue to love her as each day comes.  Praying for God's best, so we can keep making more memories.  

She is counting on more days with the grandsons.

And they are counting on more days with her.

And I selfishly want more hugs.

And I selfishly want to hear more of her voice and see more of her smile as she interacts with all of us.

I know we all do .

Happy Birthday Mom.  I love you, you know.

Cherry blossoms, spring is here!

I don't have to travel very far to appreciate the first days of spring.  

All I have to do is drive down my street or drive around town.


I'm blessed to live in a city in the south, where Cherry trees are plentiful and in full bloom right now.

A few days ago, my youngest son and I went to one of my favorite parts of town, took a walk down Queens Road and snapped photographs.

I love the way the Cherry trees line the median.  They are only like this for about a week.

My son was attracted to the petals on the ground.  

Out of curiosity he picked up a handful.

 

 

That kind of wraps up how my heart feels about spring.   

Jubilant, excited, curious and hopeful of what is to come.

And let's not forget.... very thankful.

This southern gal gets tired of winter pretty quickly.

So here's to spring! 

 

 

Looking forward to warmer days,  
the arrival of anticipated flowers,
and many adventures with our boys to come. 

The Gift of His Smile

I will never tire of my Dad's smile....ever.


He's made me smile since I was a baby.

 

I wish I could have seen his smile at age 18....not just in a photograph. 

If it is contagious now, I know it must have been contagious back then too.

No wonder my mother smiled all the time in photos of them together.  I can only imagine his playful personality back then.  

I'm blessed to be able to witness his smiles at almost 80.  Oh so very blessed. 

That smile lights up my heart and it always will.

If I had to choose the most special gift my dad has, it would be how he makes anyone and everyone  smile.  It can be a stranger in a restaurant, a new swim student, or the lady behind the grocery counter. It can be the person he meets on the elevator or in the parking lot.  He could always set anyone at ease with a smile and a very kind and often funny comment. He is a master at breaking the ice.

Building houses for Habitat for Humanity in 1991.

I know, I've been with him so much I catch myself doing it sometimes too.  But he is the master.  I'm not even in the same league.  It's stepping out of my comfort zone a bit to speak to people this way.  But for Dad, it IS his comfort zone.

He just flat out loves being with people, around people, talking with people, finding out about people and their lives.  He in return enjoys sharing about his own experiences.  I guess you could say he's always been a talker.  But he's also always been a listener.  There is a HUGE difference between just a talker and someone who does both.  

How many jokes have I heard through the years?  Oh too many to count!  How many times have I seen his fun and loving teasing?  Same answer as above.  To joke back and forth, this wonderful banter I never tire of is part of him still, yes even with this continual and steady losing of his memory.  God has allowed him to keep his wonderful sense of humor.  I honestly don't know what I would do without it.  The day he stops joking is the day I'll feel like I'll want to stop breathing.  

Perhaps it's just the fact he's always been a big kid..... I'm kind of like that too.  Gee I wonder where I get it from?  

I love the way he played with our boys when they were so little.  And I love the way he still plays with them now. Our motto for him seems to be, "Once a kid, always a kid."  My mother has shaken her head and smiled so often at his antics.  We have laughed until our bellies have hurt too.  He loves our reactions.  Those reactions keep the joy coming.  He loves nothing more than bringing people joy and he is incredibly thoughtful.

 

 

The correct way to blow out candles on a birthday cake....

My dad's way of helping someone blow out their candles, say, Mom for example.  Notice, he's not blowing air at the candles, but at Mom.   Oh the stories I could tell!! 

Through the times to come, I pray I will be able to enjoy his smiles and playful spirit as he battles this beastly disease of losing his memory.  It is constantly and gradually stealing parts of the dad I've always known and loved away into the abyss of the dementia world. 

Through the journey, we will not leave him.  We will joke as we go, we will laugh as we go and tickling matches with Granddad will continue.....

 

I love him too much to not keep the playful times rolling.

"You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile..."  ~Nat King Cole

 

I love you Dad.

The little purple flowers

There are some things that you appreciate all your life.

Little things.

Simple things.

Those kind of things I've found bring me great joy.

The little purple flowers....  Roman Hyacinths or some call them Old fashioned blue Hyacinths.
They were my favorite flowers as a little girl.
I remember them growing in our backyard as a child, under the Dogwood trees next to my Dad's shop.  

They would bloom every March.   I used to get so excited.


I still do....

I loved them so much, my mom made a dress for me at that age that was the color of those flowers.   I used to pick little bouquets of them and put them in my room.  Their scent filled every corner.

Right before my folks moved from the house they lived in for over four decades, my mom took me to the yard one day and told me to dig up whatever I wanted to take to my house to plant.  She and I went under those Dogwoods and dug up many of those bulbs. 

We also dug up Iris and Jonquils, not knowing what color they were, and she cut Yellowbell for me and rooted it.  The Yellowbell from their yard actually came from my grandmother's yard 2 blocks away.  She loved her bushes and shared some with Mom.   

In front of one of my grandmother's Yellowbell bushes

The bush is so easy to plant.  You can cut it off, root it and literally stick it in the ground and it will grow. Grandmama and Yellowbell are a memory for me that go hand in hand.  

All of these flowers were part of a backyard that was a haven of peace for me growing up.  A place I loved calling home.

So now I've got these beautiful flowers as an extension of my childhood home all over my yard.  

 Every year in early spring, these flowers remind me of the simple joys in life.  They flat out make me smile.  It's like God is smiling with me.  Spring has come and there is hope of a new season once again.

And they remind me of time spent with my mom.  I loved receiving the flower bulbs from her 11 years ago,  but what I loved most was the time we shared together digging them up that afternoon.  

Now I get to pick them for her.  Each March I bring her a huge vase full of Yellowbell.  The boys and I did that today.


And I don't forget a small cluster of  Jonquils and Roman Hyacinths.

"I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

 

It's what Mom says to her grandsons almost every time before we leave to go home.  

"I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!" 

There is nothing quite like the glow on her face or the sparkle in her eyes when she's with either of our boys.

 

 

A heart with "Grandmom" on the back. And another heart with "Philip" on the back of it.  She kept his, and he kept hers.

It's almost Valentine's Day..... 

Here's to loving in abundance!

"I love you a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck."