It's September 1st and I'm back. It's my mother's 83rd birthday today. I think she's holding up rather well, don't you?




This post is dedicated to my mom. Our new bishop was in our home for a few minutes last month when she was visiting for Dave's wedding. She of course wasted no time in telling him a story or two, and then launched in to how she feels about Barack Obama (hates him and everything he's done so far). "He's giving away our country, and just why does he have to go all over the world apologizing to everybody?", she said. " WE DON'T OWE ANYBODY AN APOLOGY!" The bishop looked at Cristie and I and said, "She tends to have strong opinions, doesn't she?"

My mother has had strong opinions as long as I can remember and comes from a long line of colorfuls that didn't mince words when it came to politics, religion, weight gain or loss, and general misfortune (ever met her sisters?). Some of my fondest memories are of the spirited card games with extended family up at the family cabin on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Before I was old enough to be included, I'd lay up in the loft listening to the name calling, accusations and exclamations, all in full color, wishing I was down below in the middle of it all with my parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. My mother hated the mountains, but loved the family time. The altitude, dirt, fish, and lack of a shower every day didn't agree with her. She's always felt much more comfortable at sea level.

As she's aged she's become less flexible in her views and more flexible about how often she repeats them. As my kids know well, she'll ask you if she's told you about something or somebody, and when you answer in the affirmative, she tells it to you again. I've heard the same story sometimes three times in the same day. She says she dosen't cuss anymore and then swears; says she never watches TV and then asks you if you saw a recent program. But with all of that, she's a great listener (well, she can hardly hear anymore, but she's very inquisitive), and is more compassionate than about anybody I know. She's been a wonderful mother, an inspiration, with high expectations. She's been my big fan and also a precise critic and I love her and am grateful Heavenly Father gave me her as my mother.


My mom is not a blog reader. Please, don't anybody call her and read this post to her. I don't mean it to be critical at all, wouldn't think of it, but she might take some of it that way and I would NEVER want to hurt her feelings.