Happy Birthday Mom

merrill01 copy
Originally uploaded by bobcook2006

Today's my mother's 67th Birthday.

Truth is, that it's hard to believe that she's 67 because 67 is really close to 70 and 70 just seems OLD. Seventy is one of those ages that really marks you as a senior citizen. Now my mom has been getting the senior citizen discount since before she was really eligible but that's because she's also frugal and doesn't give a shit about people knowing her age. Unless of course it means they're going to deny her some sort of discount.

I remember being that the movies with her with Don and she turns to Don and says, "I'm going for it." Which meant that she was going to ask for a senior ticket even though she was only 60. After she got her senior ticket she explained to us that the teenagers see one grey hair and decide that you're just "old". I remember when I was about 25 and was insuring a car on my own for the first time, I had to meet with the insurance agent at her office in Hartford or was it Manchester. Whatever. The woman was lamenting menopause especially the hot flashes. She told how hard is is to be 50. My mouth nearly dropped as I looked the woman up and down in disbelief that she was younger than my own mother. I could have sworn she was 15 years older.

And that's how it is with my mother. My mother lives a healthy active life. Though she's slowed down a bit my her knees these days, she still hits the volleyball court at least twice a week. Over the summer she's still on the sand volleyball court. She eats healthier than anyone I know. I certainly wouldn't palate a lot of what she eats in the name of health. But that's her passion.

So where am I in this rambling mess of a blog post. I'm at the point where I say I admire my mother greatly and I apologize for all of the times I hung up the phone on her in high school when she didn't say yes to whatever asinine request I made.

I called my mom last night and asked how she'd like to celebrate her birthday. After talking around the question for a bit, I suggested that we supply her with a nice hot meal after she works a full day at the shop and then celebrate with the kids with some cake. I told her I'd make her a gluten-free pizza. There was a pause and sighed then she said, "That's exactly what I want to eat."

I knocked that one out of the park.


Here's a picture of my mom from this past weekend. Wondering about the dots?