Today is my sister Mary’s birthday. She is ninety years old and still very much an inspiration to all of us for her joie de vivre and sweet personality. Permit me to take the time to salute her and tell her that I love her, something I don’t do frequently enough.
Since there are nine years between us in age, we really didn’t spend much family time together. She got married and left home, and I was still a kid running around the neighborhood. In that short time, however, she was always sweet and protective of her “little brother,” a behavior she has continued to this day.
When I was a little boy she took me to the municipal pool and taught me to swim. I remember the women’s dressing room which even at that age was interesting. She also had the patience to teach me how to tie my shoe strings and how to tell time on the old analog clock in the kitchen. She curled my hair and paid attention to me. And in subsequent years, she has come to me when I was sick or needed help.
My sister is loved by all who meet her. This has been the case from family life in Dubuque, Iowa, to her present life in Corinth, Texas. She is, in a word, “irrepressible.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!
Click on photo if blurry.
Happy birthday!
Thanks Nick, she is a sweetheart! Making chili tomorrow–you inspired me!