there is beauty all around

whenever my mother is in the vicinity!


Today is her birthday. She is on a business trip right now and so is not even home to open her presents. I finally caught up with her tonight and she said she was getting old. I said, if you can go go go for 12-hour days at market, many days in a row, and with nary a sensible shoe in sight, you must be doing pretty well!

some pertinent information about my mom:

• She loves to give gifts more than anyone I know (even Jill!). You know how you sometimes see things and wish you could buy it for someone you know? Well, she does. In the birthday package she sent to me, she also sent gifts for my kids.

• She makes everything beautiful -- whether it is her home, her store, the homes of her clients, her childrens' homes (yay!), gifts, you name it. I don't believe she owns anything that is strictly utilitarian -- literally everything is beautiful. Whenever I spend time with her, I find myself wanting to beautify my life.

• She has very fine, wispy hair -- but she works magic with what she's got. Her hair is always adorable. I don't know how she's figured out so many tricks, but I swear I am always wondering how her hair can look so cute and mine look so dumb!

• She is always up on the latest fashions. She tells me what is cool, as I usually have no idea. Sometimes I might raise an eyebrow at a trend she tells me about, but I can't question her, her fashion sense is infallible.

• She loves to collect things. She has more collections than anyone I know, and they are very extensive collections! I hope to inherit some of them someday. A few examples: salt and pepper shakers, cake pedestals, full sets of china!, vintage books, Christmas decorations, fine linens, silver spoons, etc. etc.

• She has the best guest rooms ever -- luxury linens, a private bathroom, the best accomodations, and more beautiful than an exclusive hotel. It makes you never want to leave.

• She is so petite -- she laughingly says she is one gene away from dwarfism. She claims she is 5' tall, but we know she is really 4'11". Almost every article of clothing she buys has to be altered; she loves to find blouses with 3/4 length sleeves, because then she doesn't have to have the arms shortened!

• She wears a size 4 shoe, and has many many enviable pairs. No one can borrow them, though, because who can fit into a shoe that tiny?!

• She is a wonderful cook. Although she doesn't have much time to cook anymore, she still makes homemade bread on occasion and caramels and toffee at Christmas time. She never uses a mix, and I didn't know what brownies from a mix tasted like until I went to college! (yuck) There were many times when I had the heart-stopping job of holding a layer cake on my lap while she drove to deliver it to a friend.

• She tried to get me interested in cooking, but I had a strong distaste for any and all domestic arts until I moved away from home. Suddenly I had a burning desire to learn to cook.

• She has a clear, wonderful, soprano voice. I love to sing with her in church, or any chance we get!

• She never studied business, but she is a self-taught businesswoman. She taught herself interior design, started consulting, and then opened retail stores. She has vision, and she has an artist's eye.

• She should be rich, but she is overly generous with her time and her goods. (Plus, she shares abundantly with her loved ones!)

• She is such a hard worker, sometimes to the point of being a work-a-holic. She really cares about doing things well, and she will stay up all night if that's what it takes. She never gets enough sleep.

• She has a strong testimony. She taught me a lot by praying with me. I'll never forget that she said a prayer with me before my cheerleading tryouts. At the time, nothing could have meant more to me.

• She taught me that the Lord cares about us individually, even down to the seemingly inconsequential aspects of our lives. She fervently believes that if it's important to us, it's important to Him. She regularly said things like, "the Spirit told me I needed to buy butter when I was at the store".

• She lives in Pennsylvania. She loves the history and the beauty of the East (not to mention the fabulous antique stores!). I fear she will never move nearer to where we live.

• She inspires loyalty. No matter where we have lived, or how often we moved, she always seemed to find friends that would do absolutely anything for her (maybe it's because she's the same way).

• She is so generous. She sent way too much money for the kids for Christmas and when I asked her about it, she said, "I had a really good yard sale!" (Believe me, you do not even want to know the kinds of things she had at her yard sale.)

• I don't know if there's anything she can't do. (well, maybe sports)

• She reveres her parents. She still looks to her mother for advice, and so do I.
  

She's my beautiful mother and I love her so. Happy birthday, Mom!