Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is mom’s 81st birthday.  Talk about blessings!  Well, first I am blessed to live to see my mom celebrate the milestone.  Second, she’s blessed, because many folks do not live to see 81. My children have had precious years with their grandmother. The blessings are endless!

“Lena,”  “Florence,” “Grandma Dynamite,” “Grand mom,” whatever you choose to call her is very much alive and kickin!

 Happy that mom is celebrating her 81st Birthday today!   #100HappyDaysChallenge #100HappyDays4Lexa  Day#18

Known quite well for her outspoken and sharp tongue.  Rarely asked for her opinion, yet she will still (to this day) give it all to you.  The good, bad, and the downright ugly!  She will tell you,

 “My mom always told me to tell the truth, so that’s what I do!

Known by everyone as mama and pop, my grandparents raised mom and 12 siblings in a small shack in the country, a good 20 miles or so from civilization.

They lived without electricity, gas, or running water.  Getting up in the middle of the night to use the “bathroom” meant going outside to the outhouse.  And yet today, I have the nerve to turn my nose up to a port-potty.  Back in the day, mom would have been too darn happy to use that amenity.

Laundry meant using a washboard.

 Just imagine laundry for 15 family members using wash boards!

Every school day, she (and her siblings) walked miles on a long dirt road, narrowed by over-sized oak and pine trees, to catch the school bus.  Rain, shine, hot, and frigid cold—didn’t matter they still walked wearing hand-stitched clothing and run down shoes, eating mama’s (my grandmother’s) homemade biscuits.

Mom survived some real hard times.  I was curious about 1933, the year she was born, so I hit the internet!

* The average cost of a new home was $5,750!

* My favorite board game, Monopoly was invented

* The chocolate chip cookie was invented

* 1933 was the worst year of the depression

* The Drive-in movie theater was invented

* On September 10th, the first Negro League All-Start game occurred.

It is no secret that mom and I rarely see eye to eye (I’m laughing), but that has no impact on the love or affection that I have for her.  Every other day we disagree about something (I’m dead serious), but I still show her the respect she deserves.

While I don’t agree with some of her methods of raising me, I am certain that my daughter can say the same about me.  It is what it is.  I think it is Oprah who says, when you know better, you do better.

There are no do-overs in life, I affirm that each generation should learn from the previous generation and raise the bar with regards to everything—education, parenting, careers, etc…

I am grateful and happy that she is still going strong!  Mom is still independent.  Today, if you even look at her the wrong way or mess with her kids (there are two of us) or her favorite sisters, she will give you the cussin out of a lifetime.  Lol!!  Years ago she’d slap you in a heartbeat.  Haaaahaaa!   Though it wasn’t funny then.

Anyways, I give props to mom because she empowered me and taught me to be the strong, to be resilient, to be independent, fight for I want (figuratively & literally), and to be the bad ass and confident daughter that I am today.  Hehe!  Funny but true.  Thanks mom!!

Never wanting anyone to make a fuss over her on birthday, I’m not sure how she’d feel about this post, but I plan on sharing it with her (later) in a very special way.

Happy Birthday Mother!!!