It’s hard to believe that it will soon be 30 years(Aug 4) since you passed away and, even now, as I begin writing this, the waves of emotion within me are huge.   Please take that as a compliment, and don’t be too worried. For the most part, all is good.

I, like dad and all of your children have been fortunate in that we have able to get on with our lives and l despite the fact that you are no longer here. Like all people, we’ve each had our share of challenges that life offers, but we’ve always gotten back up and continued on our respective life journeys.

Ann and I are the proud parents of your last grandchild, Eric, now 15 and a freshman in high school. Eric has found his true love in theater and has played many roles in past school and group theater productions. His latest role will come in about a week and a half when he plays the lead role of Huey Calhoun in three productions of the play, “Memphis.”Yes, Eric loves theater the same way that I (and you, actually) used to love sports.  On top of that, he is an honor student and is a just a great kid.

To some, it might seem odd to come across a blog written by a grown man to his mother but if you have or had ever met my mother, you would better understand how I’m feeling as I write this. On top of raising  all 10 of us, including seven kids under the age of five at one time, mom was always fair and mostly never raised a hand to us, save for an occasional spanking. But she and dad always rooted for us as we grew older, supporting any dreams we may have had for our futures, no matter whether those dreams required going to college or not. She was always behind us 100 percent.

Only exceptional, incredibly strong people are capable of properly raising so many children in such a way, but mom, you were most certainly one of those people.

Life will continue to go on and time will pass, but no matter how old I get, I will always hold your memory close to my heart. You were a true angel and I continue to love you as if you were still here. Happy Birthday Mom!