In two days, my mom turns ninety. She’s already rockin’ this new decade. Even though she’s more careful with her steps these days and no longer walks so fast that I can’t keep up, she’s still moving and grooving through life. She drives herself to her occasional doctor's appointment. She’s had a pacemaker for over twenty years that keeps her heart ticking in perfect time. Every so often, she gets a pacemaker report card that reveals anything unusual (an incident) that happened over the past months. On these report cards, there is usually one or two incidents where the heart rate changed. She’s told me that she’s unaware when it happens, but the heart is all-knowing, and nothing escapes its notice. I joked with her a few months ago that when she gets her next “report card”, I’m pretty sure there will be an incident on February 24. That’s the day we decided to move her travel trailer. I let her know a few days earlier to start packing things up. On February 24, I knocked on the door to ask her if she had things ready to move. She said she was working on it and asked if I had a timeline. I said, “Yes, now.” I’m pretty sure her pacemaker set off an “all systems go” alarm at that moment.
Today, she can see the birds eating from her feeders as she sits at her desk by the window and works on her computer. Yes, she’s still working. After all her years of teaching, she’s still sharing her knowlege with anyone willing to listen. Throughout her career in public education, she painstakingly helped countless individuals stay the course. As a reading specialist, she taught elementary students how to read. As a Special Ed teacher, she helped high school students scratch out algebra equations, take tests, and ultimately make it through graduation. As a transition advocate, she guided students into life after high school, where they could pursue their interests in work-study programs and other career paths so they could succeed. To this day, people still tell me they would never have made it through school if it wasn’t for her.
She’s a life-long learner and teacher. These days, she’s taking on a different course of study. She spends her hours learning about the planets and all things astrological. Every day, she sends out individual horoscopes to over a dozen people. These daily messages include lessons about what’s happening in the sky and how that affects our daily interactions. It’s her purpose—to help others live their best lives.
A couple times a week, she comes out to our happy hour gigs and sits in “her” chair at a table with a group of friends. She drinks one or two Key Lime cocktails, visits with all her friends, and dances to a few songs. Mom has some great stories. She’s driven fast cars, piloted a small Cessna airplane, dropped the flag at the racetrack, raised three daughters, and touched a million lives. Ask her about the time she had to take two approaches to the landing strip on Jekyll Island, North Carolina, in a small Cessna, with my baby sister and me as her passengers. Or about her Austin Healy. Ask her about riding horses bareback on the farm in California. Ask her about her days as a Marine wife. Or teaching in a North Carolina classroom during the desegration of schools.
Mom has collected a lifetime of stories, and even though she could spend her time looking back and reminiscing, she’s just too busy with what she’s got going on right now.
Happy Birthday, Mom! (She’ll be the first one to read this 🥰)
That said, I still love a good story. Years ago, I crafted a song with a few of her stories. It’s A Good One.
A Good One by Trisha Leone It’s 3 am the lights are shining bright Through the windows of the restaurant Inside a pretty little waitress pours the coffee For the fishermen sitting at the counter They tell stories of the catch of the day, the ones that got away She smiles, and wishes them luck, sends them on their way Drifting in and out of sleep, on a blanket on the beach To the sound of the seagulls and the rolling sea She digs her toes in the sand, licks the salt off her lips she’s a California dreamer She still falls asleep to the rhythm of the ocean waves With a sound machine by her bed, she drifts away Every once in awhile a good one shows up And she can’t help smile when she remembers The spark in her eyes tells the story Of another time and a place a happy memory It’s a good one that takes her back A postcard from the past It’s a good one yeah its a good one It was a 1952 Chevy Bel Air Two-tone green, the top rolled down She drove that car down the Boulevard Looking like a star When the light turned red she checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror On green she put her foot on the pedal and left it all behind Every once in awhile a good one shows up And she can’t help smile when she remembers The spark in her eyes tells the story Of another time and a place a happy memory It’s a good one that takes her back A postcard from the past It’s a good one yeah it's a good one Oh, tell me a story, one that makes you smile. Please won’t you tell me, oh tell me, tell me a good one
Listen to the song above ⬆️ or on Bandcamp
Love this. Love the young lady it’s about!