My Birthday Month

One thing about having a birthday on the first of a month is that it sneaks up on everyone, including the birthday girl! So I'm "all in" on celebrating for a whole month... which I don't do actually. But it's nice to think about, and it allows me to splurge a little bit when I feel like it.

Lew did buy a chocolate cake for me. It cost over $30! But it was delicious, and I had several pieces. Yummy!  (I wouldn't let him light the candle since it is too cute to let melt.)

The Annual Family Trifecta

Happy 87th Birthday to my father!

Happy 29th Wedding Anniversary to Debbie and Glen!

Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary to Lew and me!!!  Our silver anniversary!

The celebration:  Super beef sandwiches (with extra sauce) plus cake and ice cream.

Thank you to my sisters for providing the yummies!

🎂🩷🕺💗🍨

Last Post of the Year

I've been averaging two posts per week on the blog. One written by me, one written by my father. So in all likelihood, this will be my final post of 2024.

When I was younger, I found it funny when people would comment about how fast another year has gone by. But now I'm doing it myself, ha ha! I think it is because every year is a smaller percentage of your lifetime as you age. Time seems to go by faster... although it really doesn't.

When I was a kid I thought about how "old" (as in "ancient") I would be in the year 2000... the ripe old age of 37. I will turn 62 in 2025, and I don't feel "ancient." Well, maybe a little when I stand up after looking for my cats under the bed.

Happy New Year! Wishing you many blessings in 2025.

13 Years

Thirteen years has gone by fast.  Grandson Eli is now a teenager!

Below are links to my first three posts after he was born.  Enjoy.  💗

Baby :)  

Thursday, 10/27/2011

Photos... by Eli

Friday, 10/28/2011

Milestones

Saturday, 10/29/2011

One Year Remembrance

It's been a whole year as of today. A whole year since I held my mother's hand as she slipped away into the arms of Jesus. I rejoice that she is with the Lord, but I sure do miss her. I always will.

I love you, Mom!

People say Mom looks like Karen Carpenter in this photo.

She loved riding her tricycle. She was "The Parade Monster!"

Remembering Mom

We had a lovely time last night as our family dined on brisket, corn on the cob, bread, watermelon, cookies, and chips 'n dip. (I may be missing something.) The meat and the corn came all the way from Illinois. Yum!

In attendance were Dad, Lew & I, Kim & Joe, Kaelen, Kelsey & Zach, Bode, Boston, Debbie & Glen, and Zack. We were short one member because Josh is working his 90-day shift on the ship. (We missed you, Josh!)

After the meal we had a brief time of remembering my mother.

Kelsey and Kaelen led by reading the obituary. I then read Mom & Dad's wedding invitation, after which I shared the Bible passage Mom and I often read together.  Said passage was Genesis 1, with Mom providing "good" after I read "and God saw that it was..." — my family performed Mom's part last night. I told everyone they were on Mom's heart until the end as I sang to her, "He's got Mary Lou's family in His hands."

After I finished the "planned" portion of the evening, the rest of the family shared (mostly funny!) stories about Mom. It was a nice time of remembrance.

We will always miss her.

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 💖 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

The Annual Trifecta

Happy Birthday to my father! (86 years.)

Happy Anniversary to Debbie and Glen! (28 years.)

Happy Anniversary to my husband! (24 years of wedded bliss. I'm still not sick of him. 💗)

Leaplings

Yesterday was Leap Year Day. I just saw a headline that more than 20 babies were born in Maine yesterday.

I wonder when these babies will celebrate their birthday. Biologically they will be four years old the next time a February 29th rolls around.

In non-leap years, they should have a two-day birthday celebration. My reasoning: The birth was in the month of February but it was on the day after February 28th.

So, leaplings, I encourage you to celebrate on February 28 and again on March 1! You are worth it!

Number 49

Tim Wakefield, the great knuckleballer who played for the Red Sox, died this morning. The reports are that he had a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He was only 57 years old. Gone too soon.

I haven't followed the Red Sox very closely for the past couple years. The current ownership is too political, and they also have messed up by not holding onto some fan-favorite players — for example, Mookie Betts.

But we were big fans during Tim Wakefield's tenure with the team. He was fun to watch, and it was apparent that he was a good man.

Thanks for the memories, #49! You will be missed.

A Birthday and a Monday Update

Happy Birthday to my husband, Lew! It's a milestone year for him. (Hint: Three quarters!)

As long as all the insurance paperwork goes through as expected, Dad will be transferred from the hospital to rehab tomorrow. He needs to have a short-term stay since he isn't allowed to put weight on his left foot yet. We are expecting him to be in rehab at the same facility where Mom is in long-term care, so that will be handy... one-stop visiting!

Lew and I are still keeping up with the Little League World Series even though the team from Maine is out of contention. We always enjoy this Series, even if Maine isn't represented. It's fun to watch the kids play.

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Double-Digit Day

Lew and I went to grandson Adam's 10th-birthday party today.

Ten years old already.  Wow.

The kids in attendance at the party went on the homemade slip n' slide.  I did not.

I did, however, eat a hamburger, chips, fruit, and a piece of ice cream cake.

Happy Birthday, Adam!

63 Years

Happy Anniversary to my parents! They had a brief visit outside today. I did manage to get a picture, but the sun didn't make it easy on our eyes. 🌞

Sixty-three years of wedded bliss!

Say, "CHEESE!"

Debbie brought these gorgeous flowers to Mom.

Saturday Breakfast

Lew and I went to breakfast this morning with Carole and her daughter Donna.

We had a lovely time, although we all knew there was an "empty place" at the table. It was our first Saturday breakfast out together since Dick passed away.

Carole and Donna gave Lew a golf ball and tee that they found in Dick's bedside table. I am going to make a LEGO display stand for the ball and tee.

We had a great conversation, catching up on the events of the past month.

We shared lots of laughter and a few tears.

It was a morning that we all needed.

We are blessed.

Two Celebrations

I took a bloggy-break the past few days. Just a quick post tonight to get back into it.

Sunday (two days ago) was Mother's Day. Mom and I celebrated by eating chocolate chip cookies that I brought. She ate her whole cookie and then started on mine! When she picked up the final piece of the cookie, she took a bite, looked at me, and then handed it to me as her eyes asked, "Do you want this?" I thought that was sweet, and I did eat it. 🍪 I also brought her a jello cup, which she enjoyed.

Saturday (three days ago) we celebrated the life of our friend Dick. It was a lovely service. Lew spoke for a couple minutes about their friendship, and he did a nice job. Lots of people attended the service, so we had a busy afternoon of fellowship. We were pretty tired by the end of the day. We will both miss our wonderful friend.

Today is the middle of May! Fifteen days of May before today and fifteen more days after. Enjoy!

Normalcy

I have been thinking non-stop about our friend Dick and his grieving family and friends. It's like a computer program running in the background that's taking up all of the working memory.

I was, however, able to have a couple days of "normalcy" by going to work yesterday and today. I put in a total of 17 hours and accomplished much more than I thought I would.

One day at a time.

Best Friends Forever

My husband lost his dearest friend, Dick, yesterday. His passing was unexpected and we are still feeling somewhat numb.

Dick and his wife, Carole, were our Saturday morning breakfast buddies. Dick and Lew also met with two other retired guys midweek for their "old man's breakfast."

Dick and Lew went Christmas shopping together every year, albeit in recent years their "shopping" day was more about where to eat breakfast and lunch! They played golf together. They went to movies together. They did household improvement tasks together. They cherished their status as BFFs.

We grieve for our loss, but we rejoice with Dick who is now with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So — although we will miss you for now, Dick — we WILL see you later.

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of knowing this great man.

Another May Birthday

Today is my cousin Wendy's birthday.  She is almost a whole year older than I am.  (A year minus three days older, to be exact.)

Wendy is our family's Prayer Warrior.

I received a birthday card from her today.  I sent one to her earlier in the week.  We've always enjoyed celebrating our close-to-mutual birthdays.

Happy Birthday to you, dear Wendy!

💕

Birthday Photos

I had a very nice birthday yesterday!

I went to work for a few hours. One of my colleagues brought me these lovely flowers.

Lew made cheese nachos for my birthday dinner...

... and he bought a Triple Chocolate Cake!

 

As for a picture of me on my birthday? I have only one!

Yes, I left work mid-afternoon and stopped to visit Mom. I hadn't been to see her for a couple weeks due to the bad cold I had, but I am now well enough to visit. Dad was there, too, so the three of us had a nice time chatting about my new status of being 60 years old.

Happy May to all!

Have a Good Night!

After tonight's sleep, I will wake up and be 60 years old.

I've decided to embrace my new age.

Remember.... It's the "Sensational Sixties."

I can do this.  😎

The Penultimate Day of My 50s

I don't really have anything interesting to write about today; I just wanted to use the word "penultimate" in my post title. 😄

It is true, though. Today is the next-to-last day in my 50s.

I will be 60 years old on Monday.... Sixty!

How did that happen?!

My fellow Batgirls and I are calling this next decade, "Our Sensational Sixties."  That's the attitude to have, I guess!  I'll keep you posted on how it goes. 😏