Happy Birthday to Mum

Happy Birthday to Mum!

Today, we are having a celebration.  The matriarch of our family is 85 years old!

She doesn't like big parties or huge fusses.  How is it possible to NOT have all of that?

My mother had five children; we birthed seven grandchildren and they, in turn, have produced nine, any-day-now-to-be ten great-grandchildren.

If you add in spouses, step-children and step-grandchildren, the family explodes exponentially.  It is impossible to have a small party!

Throw in siblings, cousins, friends, you have an ever-expanding crowd of folks; a huge boisterous, bubbling happy fuss is the result.

Everyone wants to wish her "Happy Birthday" and to tell her how much she means to each of us.  She has steered the family through births, moves, floods, job losses, marriages, divorces, re-marriages, illnesses, deaths, near-deaths, accidents, bad times, stupid decisions, good times, great decisions and extraordinarily joyful times.

Each of us knows that if we need her, she is there.  If we need a place to shelter in a crisis, she is there.  If we need a loving hug or a boot-in-the-behind, she is there.  If we need advice or if we're avoiding the truth and need to hear it, she is there.

So--now, why wouldn't we make a huge fuss and have a big party?  There's a lot to celebrate in those 85 years!

Happy Birthday, Mum (Margaret, Nanny)!

She is the mother of us all and we will be a huge, happy celebrating family today.