Birthday Surprise

My Mom turns 70 tomorrow. If you've read in a previous blog about the brain tumor, then you know how grateful we are that she's still with us. That was a very close call.

Anyway, Mom is one of six children, born to Edith and George. She's the youngest, and all but her brother Jerry have gone to Heaven. Since she can't fly for awhile, or at least until her doctor gives her the go-ahead, we were really happy to find out that Jerry and his wife, Elaine, were planning to surprise her with a visit.

It's HARD to keep a secret in my family, but this one was just too good. Mom may have suspected we were up to something, but as she told us later, she thought we were going to surprise her with a cake. The look on her face when she saw her brother - there are no words. They both just hugged and cried. Then we all cried. She grabbed his hand and didn't let go. For hours & hours, we sat around and talked about everything. When we were kids...when my Mom and Jerry were kids...politics...the economy...the war in Iraq...and funny, funny stories. My cheeks are sore from laughing so much. Finally, we decided to let the two snowbirds go back to my cousin Lynn's house so they could get some shut-eye. They'd been up since the crack of Michigan dawn, after all, and here it was nearly 11 p.m. San Diego time.

Jerry and Elaine are going to be here for a week. As I kissed Mom goodnight and headed to my car, I said, "Good night Mom, sleep tight." She told me, "I won't be able to sleep tonight." I asked her why. She said, "Because I'm just so excited - I can't wait for tomorrow." In that instant she wasn't my Mom. I saw the little girl with white-blonde curls, smiling as she waited for her favorite big brother to get home from school. I love you Mom - Happy Birthday!