One Good Turn

At dinner the other night, Mom told was about how she went to the movies that week. She and her friends were standing in a line to buy tickets, when she noticed a couple about her age (80) standing in line in front of her. Mom has been a widow now for four years, and she (of course) misses my dad, so when she saw this couple talking together, she leaned over and said warmly,

"You don't know how blessed you are, you two; to still be together."

The couple smiled, and the wife said, "Oh, yes, we do."

They shared a little small-talk, and Mom told them she was going to see The Proposal. She then turned back to her friends in line, and a moment later, when it was her turn to buy her ticket, she turned back to see the husband, holding out a movie ticket to her. He smiled and said,

"This one's on us."

(Damn, that chokes me up.)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Original Post on 6/27/08 at Half-Past Kissin' Time

Mom was born in 1929; a terrible year for most Americans, but a lucky one for us; she turns 79 today. I won't see her (I'll be on my way home), but I took care of her birthday gift before I left. I printed out each of the blog posts that I have written about her: Farm Girl Fun, Because Everyone Needs a Grandma, What Some Little Old Ladies Have on Their I-pods, Forever Young at Heart, and First Communion. Because each of those posts had wonderful comments directed towards Mom, I knew she would love them.

So, after I printed out each post (and its comments), I put them on some pretty paper in an album. I'm happy to say that Mom LOVED the gift. In fact, she loved it so much that she called me three times to thank me for it again and told me that the gift (and I) are very precious to her. I bought extra pages to add future posts to the the album. So, it is truly a gift that will "keep on giving." And, in honor of Mom's big day, I made this short video collage. If Mom was at all elusive to you before, her personality, charm, and spirit will be evident after viewing the video.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!