Over the Hill + One

Monday 26 November we said Happy Birthday to my mom, Liz. As I understand, she is petitioning to be called Elizabeth. It is a difficult change for me make. Last year my mom had a special, rather large and important birthday. We threw her a surprise party - and somehow she was surprised. We rented out the clubhouse next to the pool at my parent's subdivision. We invited in a bunch of people, and somehow she didn't figure it out. I drove up from Champaign and introduced my parents to their first furry grandchild. My sister flew in from Rhode Island - but she stayed with a friend and was a complete surprise at the party. My mom's oldest sister, Aunt Barbara, and her husband flew in to Indiana to "visit" thier oldest daughter and her husbad at Notre Dame in South Bend, and just coincidentally decdied to drive up to Fox Lake to do an early birthday lunch with mom. We gave my cousin-in-law John a tour of the area and decided we had to show him the clubhouse where the grandparetns had parties. When we walked in my mom was totally surprised to see family and friends from near and far to celebrate her birthday! It was a great time - good food, good company, and an all around relaxing weekend after the stress of getting it planned.

Another little story about my mom. You probably don't know it, but my mom was actually born in a little town called Princeton Junction, in a little state called New Jersey. When she was in Junior High the family moved to Massachusetts, and a few years later they moved out to the MIdwest. You can immagine the irony when she later met and married a man whose last name was Jersey. Yes, that corniest of all corny jokes came out at the wedding a number of times - meet the NEW Jersey!

My mom is a great woman - but she works too hard. As I write she is at work and I haven't gotten to wish her a Happy Birthday. She started her day at 5AM and at 9:30 PM she still hasn't gotten home. She has been gone from the house longer than my dad, who took the train to Chicago, put in a full day of work, and took the train back an hour and a half back to the 'burbs. And we wonder where I got my work ethic? Happy Birthday mom - I hope you get sleep and relax and do all the fun things that a birthday entails tomorrow!!!