About My Mom

Friday was my mom's birthday. In honor of her, I thought I would share some things about her.

She was the youngest of 4 children.

She grew up in the country. With siblings that were much older, and other children living so far away, she was often lonely. She did NOT like living in the country.

She married my dad when she was almost 19, after 13 dates.

She graduated from high school a year early. She took college courses over the years, but never got a degree.

Daddy was in the Air Force and she loved all the moving around that included. Her favorite state was Colorado.

She loved working. Her favorite job was as a secretary at NASA when the space program was getting started. Daddy made her quit because the hours were so long and she was away from home so much. It took her years to forgive him for that.

She was incredibly hospitable. She keep a file card index of everybody at church and noted when they were last in our home. We had company over all the time.

Our home was cluttered and often messy. Every time company was coming (and remember, we had company a lot!), we would spend the day crisis cleaning.

She taught 2 year olds at church until she literally could not get down on the floor with them anymore. I think she was in her 60's when she quit teaching.

She was a great seamstress. She sewed a lot of clothes for me and my sisters. She made my oldest sister's wedding dress and mine.

She loved wine, but stopped drinking it when her children came. She felt that she could not ask us not to drink alcohol if she did.

After retirement, she took tole painting classes. She made dolls and other craft items. She and my dad did lots of craft shows.

She loved puzzle magazines. I remember she was very good at cryptograms and logic problems.

She enjoyed card games. Her favorite was bridge. If she was alone and wanted to play, she would deal 4 hands on the table and take turns playing each hand. I never did understand how she didn't cheat doing that.

She was an adequate cook, but liked strange food combinations. One time at my house, she mixed macaroni & cheese, cornbread, and tomato soup together and ate it like that.

She often refused to have her picture taken, but came to regret that in later years.

She was a great mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you and miss you.

Good, Perfect Gifts

I am participating in Bible Study Fellowship again this year. If you are not familiar with BSF, it is a international non-denominational Bible study program. Each week, you have a discussion group and a lecture. You have homework that consists of notes covering the previous week's lesson and 5 days of questions about the next section of scripture. This year, we're studying Genesis. It has only been a few weeks, but it has already been an incredible study.

This past week, we studied the creation of man and woman. During the lecture, our leader said, "Every gift from God is good and perfect." This statement has been swirling through my head ever since.

My beautiful son is on the autism spectrum. He has problems and struggles other children don't have. As a parent, I face problems and struggles others don't have. I have railed against fate. I have railed against God. Why my son? Why me? Why is their child so "perfect"? It's not fair!

I got my answer this week. My son is a gift from God. He is good. He is perfect. I am blessed.