Happy Birthday

That's Mom on the left- busy with her current obsession

My mother turns 69 today, although you'd never guess it to look at her.  She's got the kind of face that doesn't really change much from 30 to 80, and while I think she's actually (finally!) gotten a couple of gray hairs over the past year or so, it's pretty much still the same gorgeous black it's always been (seriously, Mom - you couldn't pass the hair gene down to your daughter?) 

I wrote recently about persisting - Mom was the one who taught me that.  We were talking once about dealing with work issues (yet another reason I love my mother - some mothers talk about housework and cooking.  My mom gives career advice - from the sharp point of the spear. Well, and cooking.)  She was engaged in some internecine conflict with some colleagues, and I asked how she planned on bringing them over to her side - she said she was going to go for the throat, lock her jaws and hang on until they gave up. That part of the DNA she passed down... 

What else did I get from her?  She gave me a love of books, a love of chocolate, and a love of words for their own sake.  She taught me the value of singing along with the radio - loudly and not always on key, but joyfully nonetheless.  She gave me the knowledge of my own worth - a powerful gift that I wish I could give back to her.  And she taught me the power of family.  She left the family physically, but she never lost that thread that binds, and I'm so glad she found her way back. 

She's my mother, and I'm so incredibly glad that I can reach out and contact her whenever I need her... but she's also my best friend, and it makes me happy that I can reach out just to tell her something silly that I've found that I think she would enjoy. 

Happy birthday, Mom - I sincerely wish you many, many more.