Tom and I made a speedy trip back to Ohio this week for a very special occasion:  my mom’s 80th birthday.  Dad turned 80 a couple of years ago and everyone in the family got together.  That was all Mom wanted for her birthday too.  So we all did our best – and we were only missing two grandsons (Devon is in Spain and Joe had to work).

We gathered at Der Dutchman for lunch, one of Mom and Dad’s favorite restaurants.  Dad had reserved a room and – even though they misspelled the last name (Cloymer) – the food was great and the company was even better.  Dad took care of the restaurant, I got the decorations, and my sister, Julia, made the cake that we ate later at the house.

My brother, Steve, had a wonderful idea for Mom’s 80th birthday:  we would all wear matching t-shirts that contained a word cloud that described Mom.  We all sent him 10 words that we thought described Mom, and Dad recruited some of her friends to write lists also.  He put the words together in a word cloud.  The words that were used most often were in big letters and words used less often were in smaller letters.  You can see us all 16 of us wearing the shirts below.  Some of the words are:  Grandma,loving,  chocolate chip cookies, Indians, piano, traveler, faithful, games, sexy (I think Dad put that one in!), and laughter.

There was certainly plenty of laughter today as we ate, talked, opened presents, ate cake and ice cream, played games, and had the requisite “sword fight.”

It is hard to believe Mom is 80.  She has so much energy and she is always eager to learn or experience new things.  She remembers everyone and knows their names and can tell you all about every place she has ever been.  She has always been active in the church, serving for 40+ years as the Music Director of Lexington Church of the Cross UMC.  She is truly a role model for me and I hope to be just like her some day!

We had a wonderful family day together to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday.  In the evening, when it was just Mom and Dad, Tom and me, we watched the Indians win a blowout game and reflected on the wonderful day, the perfect weather, and what a great family Mom and Dad started.