Happy birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday, but I won't say which one; although she is not ashamed of her age, I still don't think she would appreciate me sharing that information!

(Side note: the older I get, the more cagey I get about my own age...I will admit to 40-something but the exact number is on a strict need-to-know basis. And most people simply do not need to know.)

When I speak of my mother, I usually use the word "lady," which describes her perfectly. She is kind, refined, conscientious, compassionate, proper, and gracious. She is a good friend and neighbor to many people and always quick to help, but finds it difficult to accept the type of help that she routinely provides to others. Her religious faith is very important to her and her life, for the most part, revolves around her church. Mom can be a bit naive at times and always expects the best of others - an admirable quality, to be sure, but one that often sets her up to be disappointed.

I am not much like my mother, I think. While I can be compassionate, gracious and kind, these are qualities that I have to work at and which do not come naturally to me. I certainly do not share her religious faith and fervor and while I do believe strongly in helping others, my motivation for doing so is different from hers. I don't even particularly look like her or her side of the family - I am all Dad and his family.

So while I do not resemble my mother in looks or temperament, and at times it seems that we have little in common, I do admire her. I admire her resolve, her trust in others and her positive outlook, and I admire the way she has soldiered on after my father's death. She gets lonely, of course, but she refuses to give in to hopelessness and continues to live her life, to have fun, to enjoy her friends and to make new ones.

Happy birthday, Mom - you are an amazing woman!

All downhill from here

Now that it is December, everyone is in full holiday mode and the rest of the month will fly by quickly. A's last day in school is Wednesday, 19 December, which is just two weeks from tomorrow. So if there is anything that I need to get done before I have 24/7 companionship, I had better get busy!

I only have a few more cards to write and address, and will start mailing them next week. With the exception of a gift card for my nephew (boring, I know but he is 18), I am done shopping - I just have the big task of wrapping ahead of me. I am not a good gift wrapper, so hopefully the bright, pretty paper will distract everyone from the thick corners, crooked seams and overabundance of tape.

Another big job for me is the making and baking of Christmas treats. J wants to give a tin of goodies to each of his direct reports, plus his manager and his colleague. That is a total of eight tins. I deliberately bought small ones so I won't be rivaling any candy factories in my efforts, but it will still take a lot of stirring and dipping. I will make chocolate fudge and peanut butter/chocolate Buckeyes (of course), and maybe one or two types of cookies.

Speaking of Buckeyes, Ohio State is ranked #1 in the BCS and will play LSU for the championship - yea! I don't think that LSU should be #2 with not one but TWO losses to their credit, but I honestly don't know which team I would pick to take their place...perhaps Kansas but certainly not any team that failed to win their conference or has two losses. I just hope this year that Ohio State actually shows up to play the championship game and doesn't disgrace itself or its fans.

Ho Ho Ho!