Susan and Mom's Birthdays

Today is my stepdaughter Susan's birthday, so I thought I'd post a nostalgic picture of her... now everybody say "aww." I met Susan when she was four; today she's 24. Hard to believe how the years fly by. 

These days Susan works as a Physician's Asst. at a urology center in Kentucky. She lives with her fiance Jay. The two of them are getting married this summer (in Wisconsin!) so these are exciting times for both.

Susan may live a few states away and not get mentioned in this blog as often as she should, but she's part of our daily life. I think just about every single day my daughter Emma texts her and/or sends her silly pictures of herself (I know because she uses my cell phone to do so). Susan always takes the time to answer back and make Emma feel loved. Emma's lucky to have such a wonderful role model and sister-friend in her life.

Susan has the same kind of regular contact with her dad, who is on the road a lot and appreciates her keeping in touch. She's accessible to all through emails and Facebook, remembers the kids' birthdays with a card and a call, and has even started writing long "snail mail" letters to Grandma Jane, which I know have been very well received.

What more can I say about this wonderful young woman? To start, whenever I read a really good book, I think of her. We have had great conversations about books and I'm always bugging her to add this or that one to her reading list. She is smart and perceptive and funny. She truly cares about other people but also has an insight into them... why we do the things we do. She's interested in family history and loves antique stores (and is extremely fun to shop with). She has always seemed like an old soul to me.

She's teaching herself how to quilt and knit, she's a whiz at Sodoku and the other mind-sharpening games she plays. She's very motivated... she finished highschool a year early and whizzed her way through college. At age 23 she bought her own house and her own car. Now she's applying that same determination toward physical fitness, working out twice a day. She's introduced me to some great eclectic music and has helped me become more tech saavy. The best part is that, while we've always gotten along well, now that she's older, we're friends. We can sit down with a cup of coffee and talk about (just about) anything.

But Susan's not the only important person in my life who's had a birthday recently. My mother celebrated hers a few days ago (and she happens to have the same birthday as Jon's brother Eric, so Happy Birthday, Eric!).

When Dad's birthday came around I spent some time talking about his good qualities (at least the ones that have stood out to me, as his child). I think Mom deserves blog time, too, don't you?

To begin, I wonder how many quilts, pillows, potholders, placemats, etc. my mom has made over the years. No doubt it's in the many hundreds. Our house alone has well over a dozen quilts she's given us. I have so many pillows and potholders from her I change them according to season. She has always found ways to keep her hands busy and in the process has made many beautiful, colorful, useful items for her family and friends.

Mom is very generous. She always spent what little money she had on her children and others, rather than herself. I remember one winter how hard she worked collecting pine boughs for wreaths so she could make a little extra money for our Christmas. She's always calling me to see what sizes the kids are, or telling me what she found for them on sale. This Christmas I'm pretty sure the kids got more items from her than we gave them ourselves!

Mom is fun. Now, this wasn't always apparent to me when I was a teenager. But she doesn't take herself too seriously and likes to relax and be goofy around us sometimes. When I was younger I wished she'd wear make-up and dress up like some of the other moms did (especially the TV moms), but now that I'm older I admire that she is so unselfconscious and natural. She is very fun to shop with and enjoys the little pleasures of life like eating at the Chinese restaurant in Rhinelander with her family. She is very family-oriented.

Mom was always there for us. When we were little she was a stay-at-home mom, and this was a big sacrifice on her part. She had very little spending money or independence. Living out in the country as we did, Mom was pretty isolated from other adults. She never got to go out and do things without us. And she had the relatively thankless job of laundry, dishes, and housework... the kind of work where as soon as it's done, you start all over again. Never ending.

As we got older, I'm sorry to say,  Mom put up with a lot of eye rolling and sarcasm from her oh-so-sophisticated teenagers. But she hung in there until we were better able to perceive her good qualities (and some of us are starting to experience that special form of "payback" in the form of eye rolling and sarcasm from our own kids).

One thing I've come to appreciate about Mom is her thrift. She doesn't waste anything. She composted, gardened, and recycled years before "saving the earth" was fashionable. She saved plastic food containers for storage and kept every little gift we ever gave her. These kind of practices can contribute to a crowded house (so can having six kids), but they can also lead to a bounty of treasures: Mom saved a lot of our childhood artwork, writings, and personal items, and when we were old enough to want and appreciate them, she gave them back.

One interest that Mom and I share now is a love of gardening. Jon and I try to grow as many of our own vegetables as possible, but onions and carrots just don't seem to grow well in our soil. Luckily they grow very well in the sandy soil of Rhinelander. Mom always makes sure to give us her surplus.

So thank you, Mom, for all you do and have done. And happy birthday. I wanted to close with a video of Jack WALKING (yes, he walks now), but it wouldn't download so that'll have to wait for another day.

Coming soon (next blog): my memories of Mom's parents, my Grandma and Grandpa Bayer, and their home in Woodruff.