Many Happy Returns of the Day

Party Girl

It's my Mom's birthday today.  Happy Birthday Mom!! That's her with her extra-daughter Cin. (hey cin!).  In addition to being 'Ma' to our pal Cin, Marge is the mother of 5 children- 2 boys and 3 girls, grandmother to 8 grandchildren- 4 boys, 4 girls (wow didn't that just work out great) and a furball named Lucan, and great grandmother of 2 great grandchildren (jeesh, hope I got that all right). 

Before I was born my mother and father moved all around this country for Dad's work. Arkansas, Idaho, Washington, NY state, and Massachuestts just to name a few.  My mother did all of this with small children in the back of the station wagon. Personally, that sounds like medal worthy stuff. Seriously. (The dog (inky) flew across country a couple of times, but not may parents.) Changing diapers while driving cross country? And if that wasn't enough, she survived all of us. Trust me, and I won't go into details here, but there were certainly enough reasons for her to call it quits and hit the ground running.



A few things about Marge:

She grew up in Yonkers, NY where she met my father who also grew up there.  After my father took her on a date, he informed her that he was 'going to marry her'.

She makes photo albums for each of her children every Christmas, complete with a listing of who is in the picture, where was it taken, and when, recorded on the back. Most pictures in the ablums are accompanied by comments she has clipped out of magazines all year. It's a ton of work. I look foward to going over mine again Christmas morning just to see what I missed.

She's an avid crocheter and is always working on another baby blanket.

She's a Red Sox fan. Well, first she was a NY Giants fan and Bobby Thompson was one of her guys. Then the Giants left NY and she landed in New England.

She has a wicked elbow, so don't mess with her.

Her and my father were quite the dancers.....give 'em a lindy and they were up on the floor. They can still cut a rug, but perhaps something a little slower than a lindy.

She cruised to a lot of places including Bermuda, the Carribean and through the Panama Canal.

She is the original recycler. She's been reusing plastic bags, cans, ribbon, and more as long as I can remember.

She is so thoughtful, we joke that she has thank you notes made out before an occasion because you get them so quickly.

She alway has a bag for you to take from her house, that is full of magazines she's passing along (more recycling), newspaper clippings, and coupons.

She knows the difference between a 2 penny nail, a finishing nail, and a roofing nail. She also knows how to operate a paint mixing machines thanks to a stint as a hardware store owner. (I still love a good hardware store to this day).

She voluteered a LOT in our town whether it was the Catholic Women's Club, the Lioness Club or the Chamber of Commerce.

She was a Fashion Wagon hostess.  I'll just say, I don't remember FashionWagon being risque at all, so I'm not sure what this ad is about. What I do remember is how happy it made me when she rolled a new rack of clothes into the living room.

She once went to pick up my brother from scuba diving, complete with the rope he requested for the 'tuna' he had caught. Yeah, that's not going to happen people. Tunas are bigger than people. I'm sure my brother got the Dignam elbow for that one, after he stopped laughing.

She makes a wicked Bracciole and I love her chicken and rice bake. Oh how I loved her chocolate pudding parfaits as a kid!

She enjoys port wine and will surely be enjoying one tonight.

She, along with my parents friends, would do anything for a laugh.

She's extremely supportive.

When you're my Mom's friend, you're friends for life.

So, here's to you Mom! We're both glad you're our Mom and our friend for life.

Here's wishing you many happy returns of the day.

Love ya and as you would say, ciao!