"Thank you for being tooooo generous for my Happy Birthday, but I will enjoy choosing things from each of you. Today is a busy Sunday—choir, home teachers, correlation council, visiting teaching, church, and then a shift coordinators’ meeting at 5:00 P.M., which we think will be long. Therefore, we will call you when we get back, if we can think by then. There is not much to eat in the house today because we are too busy for me to cook today. Dad will have my left overs from dinner out last night with another shift coordinator couple. I do have a birthday cake, delivered this morning by one of the single sisters from the temple. Getting older does have its perks. Have a great day. It is beautiful here. After choir over at the visitors’ center, I took pictures of the dogwoods which I will send along later. Thanks again."
Love, Mom
Happy Birthday Busy Lady!
Last year was the big 7-0, so a bunch of us coordinated on a special present for her house. But since I never explained HOW we came up with last year's memorial present, I thought I'd share this year.
Here's my original concept art, with the caveat that I am a word-smith, NOT a graphic designer:
Friends and family were solicited for about 70 words or phrases that reminded us of special Mary moments.
After many e-mails back and forth, with a very patient brother, here's the final concept art,
courtesy of J - who WAS a graphic designer.
Jed picked up the canvas for delivery.
Dad eventually got it framed and hung,
and it was truly a family effort.
Here's the many phrases that we think remind us of Mom - but the three most important always are:
We Love You:
a true southern lady / active / aunt
beach / beloved / Boston
Broadway / Cape Cod / caring
Carnegie Deli cheesecake / charitable / chauffeur
chief cook and bottlewasher
Canal Street & Chinatown
clever / Connecticut
constantly on the go
control issues / counselor / cousin
daughter / determined / does it all
editor / expressive / extrovert
fun / generous / giving
grammarian / granddaughter / Grandma Mary
Grandmary
honest / hyper / insightful
inspiring / intelligent / intuitive
kind / loving / loyal
maternal / matriarch / mentor
mom / Mommy Maxfield
mother / musical
Nahunta / New York / niece
Norfolk / North Carolina / nurturing
observant / organized / outgoing
patient / red pen / service
oh, shoot a monkey
sister-in-law / spunky / sweet
understanding / Utah
Virginia / warm / walking
wanderlust
weeping woman of Willimantic
Wellfleet / wife
An object at rest remains at rest unless moved by an outside force /
There is beauty all around …. When there's love at home
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