ELLEN'S 80TH

My MIL is quite a lady.  Half-Italian, she's an incredible cook.  She also has the best Mexican food recipes, and I have happily tasted and collected each one.  Yum!  She has the energy level of a 50 year old and the memory of someone in her 30's.  Petite and curvy, she can still turn heads when she comes in the room.  I think she may have kept every gift ever given to her since birth, and she remembers who gave it to her, too.

I admire Ellen for her sustained good will to all, her cheerful disposition, her inventive and creative mind and her indomitable spirit. Most of all I admire her for LIVING her life and making every day full and rewarding.

This past Sunday was her 80th birthday, so DH and I flew out to California Thursday to surprise her.  The result was everything we hoped it would be -- shock, joy, tears, and lots of hugs.  We caught up with the family at the birthday party --  nieces and nephew and cousins and brothers and sister -- extracting promises to come and visit us in the near future.  Well, you know how that goes -- all good intentions at the time but life gets in the way, so we're not holding our breath.  Nonetheless, we miss all those folks and hope that at least one or two manages to land in our neck of the woods once in awhile.

Time for reflection.  None of us knows how long we have on this earth, but the older I get, the more I love being here, and the less I want to leave, ever.  I want to breathe this clean country air, kiss my grandchildren, laugh with DH, marvel at the sunsets, and gather precious memories forever.  So I try not to squander this precious time, whatever it is, that is allotted to me.

Besides, I can't go until I have used up all my fabric, right?