Thankful for 81

Today was my mothers eighty first birthday. I took her out to lunch at her favorite diner, Penny's. She doesn't look at the menu anymore she just orders what I order. It was a good day for her she was alert and orientated to time and place. Which is something to be thankful for. She told me some funny stories and she & I laughed. Oh how I love her laugh. After lunch I took her to my house so we can play scrabble. She beat me in two games. What can I say it's nice for her to win on her birthday. And she was cocky about it too. Quite proud of herself including a little mockery of me when I put down a word she did not approve of. It was a most wonderful day. My younger boys Robert and Corey decided to pose with their Grandma for her 81st birthday. And they had some fun too.

As I was driving home from dropping her off, I just thanked the Lord that I still have Mother to celebrate her birthday with.

Today my day began with a series of sad notes. The obituaries were not fun to read for me today. And were not in my favor. My brothers friend Matt McKale, the famed LA sports writer died of heart attack at 50 years old, just shy of 51.

And the mother of someone I went 12 years to school with lost her battle to cancer at age 74. She also was the aunt of someone that was my best friend in 3rd grade and someone I went to school with. When I arrived at the wake this evening, my friend was not there, she was in New York recieving treatments for her own battle with cancer now. I was sad. Then I bumped into another friend of mine from my grammer school, our daughters did NHS band together and she told me at the wake she just lost her mom to lung cancer.

So I am thankful! Thankful that I had the opportunity to spend the day with my Mom on her 81st Birthday. Thankful that I am alive and healthy too.