Yesterday, August 29, was my mother’s 84th birthday. Without a doubt, she is one of the most amazing women I know. In spite of her age, her macular degeneration, and the usual aches and pains that accompany aging, she lives independently in a condo. (It’s located about 20 minutes from where my sister lives; the rest of us live in other states.) Still, whenever I’ve suggested Mom should sell her place and move in with one of her offspring (me!), she demurs. She really enjoys her independence!

Macular Degeneration has slowed Mom down, but she still uses the computer and occasionally drives (for the moment). I know it’s going to be hard on her when and if she has to stop driving, but she’s a realist and recognizes that day may come sooner than she’d like.

We’re going to a school reunion this Fall in her home town of Philadelphia. Likely, she’ll be the oldest attendee. Back in 2007, we journeyed there and it was as wonderful a trip for me as for her. I’d imagined her childhood, acknowledging how frightening it must have been for her to be shipped off to a school for fatherless girls when she was only six years old.

But seeing it, standing in the room where she laid her head every night and wandering the spacious campus … these things gave me a sense of how splendidly God had provided for my mom to be educated and nurtured, when her own daddy was unable, having passed on to his reward.

See that smile on her face? She’s almost always like that. She tackles every challenge with determination and an almost inexhaustible vitality. She’s a great role model! Happy Birthday, dear Mom. Hope you live to be at least 100!