Being a mother...something I have never done if you don't count my cat (which I don't)...appears to be a never-ending job...from the outside looking in, it seems to be one of the hardest jobs there is...although everyone I know who is doing it also says it is the most rewarding...
I have been lucky to have a mom who feels that way...who believes there is nothing more important she could have done with her life...it's her 93rd birthday today...she has been doing this mothering thing longer than almost anything else she had done...longer than her career as a teacher...longer than her marriage that ended in widowhood...longer than being a sister to someone...
About the only thing she has spent more time on is her friendships...she still has relationships with her childhood friends...at least those that are still alive...she talks with them regularly...exchanges packages of things she can't get here in California and they can't get there in Tennessee...she receives boxes filled with fresh pecans and White Lily flour...she sends boxes filled with organic almond butter and Chandler walnuts...
I marvel at her being...her wherewithal, which in Tennessean is one word...she is an amazing woman...an amazing friend....an amazing mom...
And I am a very lucky child indeed...
Mom on the left...having a birthday party for her original Bye Lo baby doll (on the right)...the one that is the subject of this post...