Dear Mom,

I associate people with their sayings. Grandma Fraleigh's was "Every job needs a good boss." Mine is "You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar."

To me, yours is "Stay away from the river."

OK, so it sounds a bit banal, but I can hardly think of a more loving expression. It was like every time we went down to the park (and we went often), you were saying in an everyday way, "I love you." You never said, "Be good" or "Stay out of trouble" or "Don't embarrass me." You weren't worried about yourself or how our behavior might reflect; you just wanted us to be safe.

But I also think of you like this:

I remember my school friends telling me, "Your Mom is pretty." When looking at this photo, who could deny it?

You baked the best cookies. (Olivia keeps you in top form yet.) You got six little kids ready for church on time every Sunday. You gave us freedom to make decisions and mistakes. You blew out eggs on the last day of school before Easter break and didn't groan (too loudly) when 1/2 of us said, "Oh yeah, I need one too." When we couldn't afford the extra cost of "boys' tennies" that were the height of fashion for 3rd grade girls, you painted my girls' tennies with butterflies and caterpillars. You didn't make just lemonade from your lemons, time and again you made champagne.

You always told us we could so anything, and proved it when you told the principal, "Give me one good reason why my daughter can't take shop..."

You may say you didn't really enjoy sewing, but I remember a parade of dresses with special details, like the little purse that matched the daisy dress I wore on the 5th grade field trip to be on the Noon Show, or the lovely graduation dress you made for Jean.

And I think of you this way, too:

and

and Adventurous. A good example. Extraordinary. Still trying new things. A great Mom.

Thanks, Mom and Happy Birthday.

Love,
Gail