In Which My Dear Mama Turns 91 Years Young

My mom had a birthday and turned 91 on this day. My dad has been 91 since early June. He says that during the time that they are the same age, SHE is the boss. When he becomes older than her, then HE is the boss. That's pretty good odds. She ends up being the boss 8 months out of the year!

All of this is pure nonsense, by the way, because neither one of them is the boss of the other. They make all decisions together. They always have. They do not tell each other what to do. They just DO things together. They are happiest when they are together. So here is a picture of them, together, as they should be.

We went visiting on this day to help them celebrate. I took along some apple crisp that I'd made the day before, and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, made on the morning of our visit. It doesn't get much fresher than that, unless you are standing in our kitchen and I am handing you a cookie, hot with its chocolate chips melting, straight out of the oven.

When asked what thoughts she had about turning 91, my mom said that she was just remembering how neither of them was supposed to live. She had diphtheria when she was little, and was quarantined. She lived through it. She was one of the few.

My dad contracted spinal meningitis as a child. Two others in our county had it, one ending up deaf and the other blind. He lived with few or no repercussions, at least as far as we all know. So, here they sit, happily married for 71+ years, beating the odds in so many ways!

So here's a great big happy birthday wish to the woman who birthed me, and a shout-out as well to my dad, who has always been a great father to us all, who sits beside her, hand in hand. They have always been an inspiration to me and I am happy to share them with you in this Blip!

Here is a little soundtrack song to go with this image and story: Rod Stewart, with Forever Young.