Birthdays are a special time to celebrate when we were born, but it also holds special meaning in many other ways too.  Each year as I celebrate birthday’s of friends and family, memories bring to mind all of the times shared, the trials and tribulations we all go through as well as the laughter and joy  of just plain living.

Yesterday was my brother’s birthday, my oldest brother, who holds a special place in my heart as the person who was there for me as a little girl, the one who bought me the plastic tomahawk that I so innocently utilized on many a knee :-)  I want to wish him a happy birthday and let him know how proud I am to call him my big brother!

Today is my mom’s birthday.  My mentor, my moral compass, my guide in all things life could bring me, and most of all my best friend.  She passed away 11 years ago, after a hard fought fight with illness, in our home, in her sleep, peacefully.  I think of her when things get tough, because she was able to endure the toughest of times and do it with the most positive attitude!  My mom was the “neighborhood mom”, I grew up watching her feed and cloth children who would not otherwise have received such care.  I watched her survive cancer 24 years beyond her grim “4 months to live” diagnosis, and I saw the person that I most wanted to be in her.  Shelby did not get to meet her grandmother, as I was 8 months pregnant when my mom passed away, but I see so much of my mom in both of my children.  I see their love of life and the way that they can make a positive out of a negative.  Most of all I see their drive to do good things, to be there for those who need help and to stand up for what they believe in.  My mom lives on, her spirit is with us, and with my children, and for that I am grateful.  As I type on this web site that two years ago would have seemed a mere pipe dream, I think of how her influence led to this point in my life and the life of my family. 

Thanks mom for inspiring me to be a better person and for always reminding me that nothing is impossible.

Happy Birthday!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 11:04 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.