Mother dearest, mother fairest

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. (Prv. 31:30)

Today is my mom's birthday. Scripture notwithstanding, she is charming and beautiful, and she always says to me, "I'm too young to have a son who is (fill in number with scientific notation here) years old." And let me say that I agree with her.

The year of her birth is irrelevant, but she was born on George Washington's birthday. Rather than naming her Georgia or Georgene (!), her mom and dad called her "Martha," and so her odyssey began. Her positive attitude about life has been tested by fire many, many times, and yet her cheerful reaction to adversity, deeply rooted in good old midwestern realism, makes her an inspiration to me and to all of her children. Even a stroke a few years ago hasn't kept her from her church activities, and keeping up with her family. She even came to BOTH of the Phoenix concerts I was able to be part of last year, even though she already knows how I sound!


Mom, thank you for this life that you gave me, gave us, and gave our children (and grandchildren, yikes.) Thank you for singing all the time at home, and getting that old upright piano, and giving Cathy piano lessons so I could look at those books once in a while. Thanks for washing my mouth out with soap all those times, and I'm sorry it didn't take any better. Thank you for that morning back in grade school when we looked in the mirror together and I asked you if I was ugly because that's what I heard at school, and you reassured me over and over that I wasn't. Thanks for the example of how you dealt with adversity, of how you took care of your parents and in-laws, and for the way you always try to have something nice to say about people, not judge people, and lead with such a gentle, cheerful heart. Thank you for teaching us how to be like God. Happy birthday!

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

It crossed my mind to put a link here where you could send her a "happy birthday" note, but if you just leave a comment here or on Facebook (yes, she's groovy enough to be on Facebook, too) I'm sure she'll see it. Back tomorrow with further blitherage.