Thanksgiving is always a big deal in my family. It's my birthday and then my Mom's birthday four days later. Every year, we have a dual celebration.
This year, my Mom turned 65. It's a big year. She retired. My Mom and Dad took up semi-permanent residence at their beach house. They've traveled. One of those trips is our Thanksgiving at Folly Beach. Since we weren't in NC surrounded by the usual bunch of family and friends, I decided to bring the friends to my Mom.
The idea was from Nothing But the Bonfires. I wrote an email to my Mom's friends, co-workers and relatives. I asked them to send (by mail and eventually email) their favorite memory of my Mom for her 65th birthday. My Mom is really sentimental. I knew this would be the perfect gift.
The memories rolled in slowly. At the beginning of November, I was starting to panic that I wouldn't achieve 65 memories. I sent out a reminder email and a deluge arrived. They were hilarious, heart felt and covered all aspects of her life. There were pictures and notes. Several themes became apparent.
My Mom likes to have a good time. She definitely likes her wine. She's a great friend. She's hilarious. Everybody always wants to eat at the restaurants my Mom chose because they were always good. She loses her keys frequently. Last but not least, she cries. A lot. Which she did the entire night as she opened her envelopes.
Happy birthday Mom!
*a sincere thank you to everyone particpated in the project.
