Happy Birthday, “Mema!”

Want to meet an incredible little lady?

My Mom, known to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as “Mema,” celebrated her 87th birthday recently.  She is a spunky little lady (about 4′ 10″) who takes daily walks on her farm; feeds the chickens and collects their eggs; and plays ball with her grandchildren.  Mema has the most positive attitude of anyone I know, always seeing her glass has “half-full,” never “half-empty.”  She rejoices in the little pleasures in life, whether it’s visiting with a friend or taking a dip in the pool.  All this, despite the fact that advanced glaucoma has pretty much robbed her of her sight.  She never complains, but just keeps moving!  (That necklace she’s wearing sports my Dad’s wedding ring, who passed away several years ago.)

Happy 87th Birthday, Mema!

We recently celebrated Mema’s birthday with a pool party at our house, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  After dinner, we sat around a fire toasting marshmallows for S’mores and you’d think she was one of the kids.  She is so young at heart and she’s the exactly the kind of grandma I aspire to be someday!

When our kids were young, they loved to go visit Mema on her dairy farm.  Who else would spend hours with them in the barn as they watched the new calves, take them to the brook to go fishing, or teach them to knit and sew?  A favorite memory of my boys is when she let them create “spiderwebs” out of skeins of yarn all around the upstairs bedrooms, which mysteriously disappeared after they left, only for them to recreate another tangle of knots next time they visited.  What patience!

Happy 95th Birthday, Aunt Nancy!

Mema recently helped her neighbor and good friend, who we always referred to as “Aunt” Nancy growing up, celebrate her 95th birthday!  Maybe there’s hope for the rest of us!!!