Happy Birthday Mom!

Too often we take for granted that our parents will always be here and we don't take the time to let them know how much they have impacted our lives until too often, it's too late. Well today I wanted to celebrate my mom's life in the last 70 seventy years and wish her not only a Beautiful and Blessed Birthday, but to share with all of you what makes my mom, unique!

Looking at that number, 70 makes it hard to believe all my mother has seen in her young lifetime so far and how much trials and struggles she has had to watch and endure to make her the wonderful mom and woman she is today. At a very young age, she was left with only a father to raise her in the difficult coal mining years. Her mother died young and so she was left to grow up with only her two older sisters and brother to help fill in the gaps. Along with her Aunt who soon moved into the family leaving her a widow as well, they did what they could to make it work with two families merging together.

In fact some of my best family memories of being with my mom, is visiting her old family home in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and seeing her three story home and the smells from my grandfather's old pipe filling the air. We didn't have much growing up, but it was more than what my mom and her siblings had. It was the sense of family that my mom instilled in me over my own 48 years. That as long as you have family, it's enough.

My mother served in the Navy working in the chaplain's office as a secretary working through the difficult war years and it's there she met my father. Even though their marriage didn't last, I never saw my mom deal with anything less than grace. She is well-loved by all who know her and no one has ever had an unkind word to say about her. She worked two jobs to make ends meet raising my brother and myself being a single parent and even though we didn't see her much, she showed me what sacrifice looked like. She never asked for much and tried her best to do what she could for us. I remember all her days spent waitressing, she would put her change in mason jars and when they were filled gave one to both my brother and myself to spend going to the movies or at times, a trip to Disneyland.

I learned so much from my mom that when I went through my own divorce and wondered how I could make it as a single parent, I looked back to what I learned watching my own mother do it with so much less and one more child. I knew then, that my mom had left me with some vital tools to help me grow as the mom, wife, sister, daughter and friend I am today. Now that she has retired, I can only hope that my mom will look back at my life and see that the legacy she has started in my life will only continue to grow in the lives of my own daughters.

I just wanted to take the time to thank my mother for all those times, you did without, so we could do with a little bit more. Your own sacrifice has taught me it is possible to move through whatever difficulties life throws our way and we can handle it all without complaint and with so much grace that those around us can only learn by watching us deal with it all and rise above.

I can only wish that the remaining days of your life, will be filled with abundant blessings, smiles, wonderful memories of your children and grandchildren and know that you did more than enough to raise an amazing family who loves and adores you! Happy Birthday to the most beautiful lady in the world. Happy Birthday Mom!