Monday Morning Coffee Talk

Good Monday morning, on what seems to be the twenty-seventh Monday of January this year, but who's counting?! I hope your weekend was restful and fun, productive and cozy, or maybe a mix of all those things. Since I last saw you, I have had an appointment with an audiologist, as my hearing is not as sharp as it used to be. Fortunately...or not...my results concluded that my hearing was indeed fine, and I may need to pay better attention when listening! The weather was a bit sketchy, so I rode in with Steve, who had a physical therapy appointment around the same time. This is the photo I sent to my kids, sharing what a date looks like when you have been married for almost thirty-two years. Morning rides to appointments!

And because of my stellar performance at the ear doctor, I finished pretty early, so I phoned my super son-in-law working nearby to see if he could give me a ride home. He was kind enough to do so and even stopped for coffees on the way.

Saturday was a catch-up on all things around the house day for me. I sat at the kitchen table, wrote a meal plan, made grocery orders, and completed lesson plans. I got out Valentine's decorations that made me miss Christmas a bit less and caught up on enough laundry that I can now see the floor in my bathroom. We watched a beautiful mass on television too. 

Yesterday, we all gathered in a room in my mom's assisted living facility for a little surprise party to celebrate the most wonderful woman I know on her 86th Birthday, which she celebrates today! My sister Margie and her husband Chris joined us for gifts and cake, and Mom was very happy! She smiled and laughed the entire time. We gifted her a pair of slip-on sneakers, a soft cuddle throw blanket, and a beautiful new bag to attach to her walker. Peyton made the most delicious cake, and we all shared happy and funny memories together, 

It was the perfect way to celebrate this amazing woman I call Mom. I said to my children as we were waiting for her to arrive that eighty-six years ago, my mom was a tiny newborn baby. Her mother cared for her child, planning special celebrations for each passing year. She may not have considered that years later, people she will have never met will celebrate that baby for her as the circle of life continues.

My mother has one remaining sibling, her younger brother Jim. He messaged me with the most beautiful Birthday wish for Mom, and she was so very happy when I read it to her; tears welled in her eyes. Uncle Jim also sent along a picture of the two of them. It is so beautiful and a reminder that long before she was Mom and Grandma, she was a little girl playing in the snow with her baby brother.

Have a wonderful day, my friends. 

Thanks for visiting!

Billie Jo