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.
Sorry your mom is no longer here, but glad you had her for such a long time.
Yes, it was a blessing, too, that she was coherent virtually all her time. A sister had dementia, as did our maternal grandmother.
What a remarkable woman !
That she was!
Wow, your mom was an amazing woman, Doug! Thank you for sharing this, and for showing me that too love graham crackers! Mmmm yum!
You bet!
Your mother led a very long and impressive life, Doug. Those are precious family memories.
Give our best to Andy cat. Wishing you both a wonderful day!
They are indeed!
Dear Doug -what a beautiful message about your mother who brought so much to your family and to your country. Avec mes amitiés 🙂
Yes, Mom was something special. She was a teacher as well in the rural schools, then town, thn as a substitute teavher.
Your mother was an impressive woman
Yes, she was!
My grandma said she must have touched every stone that was built into our home where I grew up – and I do have a photo of me when the house was ready, but the garden wasn’t yet …
It is special when one realizes how much our forebears put into our childhood home.
She was quite a woman. It’s good to have that picture
I cherish it. I have a framed version on my front room wall where I can see it easily.
A lovely photo of your Mom and you, Doug. Sounds like she was a remarkable person, and you grew up in a wonderful home. I know you must treasure those memories, as I do of my Mom. Good to see Andy enjoying those tasty graham cracker treats!
Yes 🙂 and Andy looks so beautiul with a little more fur 🙂
Mom was something else! And Andy does look best with his hair long.
Leah, she was a funny person, lots of good humor there, and she and my Dad were excellent good examples for their four children and all the kids they had contact with through teaching and the law – Dad was Chief of Police here.