Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. I won't tell her age, but she's been a great wife and mother for twenty-two years longer than I have been alive. She is the youngest of eight children. Her brother, who is still alive, told me he remembers when she was born. After the baby was delivered he, listening through a vent in the floor, heard his mother tell his father, "No more babies". Thanks to her other brother, I also have the page of my grandfather's journal for that day, mentioning her birth. I love these treasures.

When I was born, my dad was in the Navy so Mom requested a Navy doctor. They thought she said "lady doctor", so I was delivered by one of the first female doctors in the state. When this lady doctor retired, she took up oil painting. Her work still hangs in one of the art galleries in our home town. We thought it would be neat to have one of them in our house, but upon seeing all of them, we thought otherwise. I hope she was a better doctor than painter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!