Mothers, Thoughts of Spring, Thanks and Freedom to Marry

Sunday was Mother's Day here in the US. All around the nation children were destroying their kitchens in an attempt to make their Mom a special breakfast, florists were counting their tills after fathers around the nation purchased a variety of flowers in an attempt to thank their spouse for taking care of their kiddies, and mothers were opening a variety of gifts from family members and remembering to smile. In years to come, I can almost guarantee that the gifts saved and still remembered after time has moved on will be the handmade cards with careful crayon and marker work by small children and given to mom with pride and love. Because gifts from the heart are always the best ones.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Spring has finally come and it's usually quite firmly established by the time of my birthday. But, this year it was a bit different. The weather on Saturday was bizarre. We had sunshine moving to clouds, hail, sleet and even a couple of snowflakes, then sunshine again. We had extreme winds coming from the north that caused property damage at some lake homes when lake ice was blown off the lake and onto the yards - feet deep and very fast. Quite frightening for those poor homeowners. I looked at all of the weather on my birthday and figured that Mother Nature was showing me her depiction of my multi-faceted personality reflected in weather. It was quite funny in a warped way.

The ice on Lake Mille Lacs was driven by wind off the lake and into
the houses on the southern side. It was about three feet deep in some homes.

Finally, as I enter the week, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who took time from your busy schedules to wish me a happy birthday. I tried to keep a list, but if I missed anyone, please know it was NOT on purpose, just in error.  So...

For e-cards I thank kymahalei, lindahoyland and curiouswombat. Each card was unique and different, each was a joy to watch and to read the message afterward. Thanks for your thoughtfulness.

For fics - wow, you guys wrote me fics - I'm totally honored! I thank bslarner, silver_trails and huinare. I loved each of them. Just loved, loved, LOVED them.

For wonderful pics that brightened my day I have to thank huinare (for the lemurs), binkaslibrary, shirebound, chaotic_binky, elfscribe and erviniae. Such bright and happy things to look at, each one magical in its own way.

For good wishes in posts and in emails, thank you to just_ann_now, hhimring, drummerwench, minuial_nuwing, clodia_metelli, alexeiadrae, rhapsody11, samtyr, ellynn_ithilwen, Iris and my BFF Sharon. Your messages of good will really made my day special and I treasured each one. Thank you for taking the time to wish me a special day of joy.

And finally (but certainly not least) for those who sent paper cards, I have to thank my good friend of many years, Poo, my DH and my Father-by-Marriage. Each card was carefully opened, examined and read slowly, savoring each word. Thank you my dears.

On a final note - once again, if I missed anyone who was kind enough to make my birthday amazingly special, please forgive me. I tried to keep a list and I think I caught everyone, but I'm human and I can screw up. If I did, please believe me - it was totally unintentional.

And last in a long post, our Freedom to Marry bill comes up for it's second vote today. If it makes it through the Senate, the governor will sign the bill into law tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that this passes and I'm on total pins and needles until I hear later this afternoon. Please think positive thoughts for the passage of this bill and acknowledgement of the civil rights of an important and vital portion of our human community.