Happy Birthday, Mother!

Rosemary, my mother

Today my mother would have been 84 years old. We didn't get to spend many birthdays together after I was married due to distance, but the ones we celebrated while I was growing up were so much fun.

One birthday that stands out in my mind took place on a weekend when my parents finally had the chance to sleep in. That was the perfect opportunity for my younger sister and I to create a "surprise" for both of my parents. We hauled in a very large box from the garage and placed our little brother in the box. He was probably about three or four. We wrapped up the box and tied a huge bow around it. (Gosh! I wonder now if my brother is afraid of the dark or small areas!) My sister and I drew several pictures, colored them, wrapped them up as gifts. We also wrapped up sticks of gum. We decided upon a few songs we knew ... my sister and I could sing all the songs from the movie South Pacific. Our favorite was I'm Going to Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair, so possibly we decided on that "number". We hauled everything into our parents' room (poor little brother... he was probably claustrophobic by then) and woke our parents to some GREAT show tunes. At the end of our songs and presentation of "gifts", we presented our parents with the biggest gift... and our brother jumped out... whether out of desire to surprise and the need to escape... big time! My parents loved it. My mother always cried just a little at how "sweet" her children were.

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y,   M O T H E R!

I miss you so much.