Andy noticed something of interest on my lapboard – crumbs in an empty graham cracker wrapper!

He hops up on the lapboard and begins to help himself to the crumbs! If I don’t hold the board, he will spill out on the floor!

~ Nom! Nom! Nom! ~

~ Nom! Nom! ~

Andy licks the wrapper clean!

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Today would have been my mother’s 110th birthday! She lived to be just days short of 99 years old and was coherent nearly till the last few days. She had a great sense of humor, a characteristic that she said got her through many rough times, like back and knee surgeries and raising four kids.

A polio victim as a child, she suffered a terrible, painful rehabilitation that lead her to a very active life swimming, playing field hockey, and other sports as a young woman.

She was active in the American Red Cross Life Saving program and taught hundreds if not thousands of children, adults, and disabled people to swim in a 60-year career as a swimming instructor. In recognition of her contribution to the community, she was given a citation by the city council and a lifetime free pass to the local swimming pool when she reached 50 years of giving swimming lessons. The local pool bath house was named in her honor, with a commemorative plaque placed on the front.

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We were a family of six: Mom, Dad, two sisters, a brother, and yours truly, the wee rascal in this photo of Mom mixing cement in a wheelbarrow while I posed cutely for my Dad so he could take the photo. They built the home we grew up in.