Happy 60th Birthday, Mom.
*cue yet another inevitable HBD song*
This is just a little present from me to my mom on such a milestone of a birthday. Included are some of my absolute favorite pics of her that show just how much of an angel she was 🤍
SIXTY years ago today, our Leah Shawn was born. Wow, it’s still crazy to think that she would have hit the big 6-0 today. Dad would have been spatting off all of the geriatric jokes and we would have treated her to some of her favorite treats. She was all about fruity desserts – especially lemon. So since today is a grand day, I want to put a spotlight on a few underrated things that Mom loved that remind me of her every time I see them.
First is the insane green thumb she had. Landscaping, flowers, plants, gardening – you name it. She loved it all and knew what every plant was just by a glance when walking into her favorite garden center ever, Bennett Nurseries. I remember as a little kid my sister and I would grab an old fashioned bottled Dr. Pepper and explore around while Mom picked up what all she needed. She would always point and tell us what the different flowers were if we didn’t know. To this day every time I see a certain plant, there’s Mom’s voice in my head saying the time of year it blooms and the amount of sunlight it needs.
Next is her incredible ability to sift through any clothes rack (particularly the overcrowded sale racks at Belk) and find the best deals, and sometimes exactly what we were looking for. When I was little I hated going shopping with a passion, but I owe my present day retail therapy addiction to her. If we were out shopping and I was complaining about being bored or tired, she’d say, “you just have to look!!” So eventually I grew into a habit of filtering through everything and to this day I have found some of the cutest and most useful things for the best deals.
One of my personal favorites that I adored about our Mom was her cooking. Good lord, she could whip up the fluffiest, most decadent pancakes that made us look forward to breakfast every morning. Her scrambled eggs, bacon and gravy & biscuits paired perfectly with a crisp fall morning & College GameDay on in the living room. She was a traditional, Southern cook who took recipes handed down through the family, and those meals NEVER disappointed. Her “home-cooking” meals were the best and made us so excited to come home on the weekends from college. And don’t even get me started on how good her no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies were. *YUM*
Right when I started high school and finally grew out of the puberty pissiness, that was when I started becoming best friends with her and really appreciated her as a whole. We all go through our phases while growing up and of course we love our parents. But that was when I really knew that my mom was going to truly be there with me through anything. The boys, the drama, the tears – all of it. We never think of our parents aging and getting old but while we are off growing up & living our lives, they are too. We all think that their aging process is somehow put on hold while we grow up and seem to forget that our parents won’t stay young forever.
My sister and I always joke about how we wish so badly we could’ve been flies on the wall back during our parent’s childhoods. To be able to see them as toddlers, kids, teens and then become the people right before we existed. Not gonna lie, I’d pay an ungodly amount of money to see them at these different ages. (I mean I’ll pull a Claire Fraser and time travel in a heartbeat.) Hearing the hilarious stories of her and her siblings when they were in their prime as young-ins makes me so jealous to have missed it all. Hey I’d take that time period over what we’re living in now ANYDAY.
Yes – birthdays are hard for someone not here anymore. But the reasons I listed above plus a million more make days like today a lot less harder to take on. My heart goes out to anyone out there with a grieving birthday of a loved one coming up. Remind yourself of the good and joyful memories because it helps a lot and reassures you that you’re going to be just fine. Celebrate them and do all of the things they loved because it’s almost as if they really are here.
So to our sweet mom who was an angel on Earth – Happy Birthday to you and may this milestone of a birthday be a big celebration with Dad and the rest of our angels.
We love you endlessly! ❤️
𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎,
𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚋𝚢
