Happy 100th to my Mom!

  Today would have been my Mother's 100th birthday, so I want to honor her with this blip to celebrate her legacy.....
   She was born into a working class family in Cleveland Ohio back on this date in 1918....she had two sisters and a brother.   My mom's Dad died when she was in her  twenties and then her mom died when she was only 30.  My mom was quite unusal for her day in that even though her family was poor she managed to work and earn a scholarship and put herself through college.  And she was a math major which was highly unusal for her day.  Her favorite job was working in book keeping /acounting for the Bailey Meter Co. in Cleveland...then she married and worked at the tree  nursery my Grandfather had.  She did their bookkeeping...this was one job that intermittently she worked at.  She did this during the two years my Dad was overseas in WWII  in France.  Then she raised five children...four of which survivied...myself and my three brothers.  She was witty, strong willed and very opinionated and could be tackless verbally, wrote plays for the church social groups, was my girl scout leader from brownies through high school (whew), played flute and rang bells, loved her high school marching band, had a good sense of humor,  was strict raising us and prone to being overly concerned about what others thought at times, was an Eisenhower Republican , socially conscious , and a very good cook!   She had many health issues and died at 83 from complications from diabetes...heart attack.  
     Mom and I clashed as I grew into my teen and college years...disagreements over many things that mom found way too liberal for her taste ...she was very upset with my opposition to the Vietnam war and had much to say to me when I was protesting....but then later she wrote a most beautiful apology coming to the conclusion that war war awful and especially that war.  She was able to change an opinion ...she was smart and thought about issues from other points of view.  Perhaps this strength to do this is what stand out a LOT to me today when so many people seem unable to open their minds and HEAR what each other are saying. Mom could be very warm hearted and I loved that quality...I miss her.