Happy Birthday Sis

We had great dreams when we were young.

 

I hope some of your dreams came true for you, little sis.  I have not been the one to help you have your wishes...but I do hope you've been able to fulfill them yourself.  We haven't been able to be close since I don't know when. But I do love you.

Today's Quote:

The more you sense the rareness and value of your own life, the more you realize that how you use it, how you manifest it, is all your responsibility. We face such a big task, so naturally we sit down for a while.  Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi

Happy Birthday son!

Tai Rogers was born on this date thirty six years ago.
Whow, how my life has changed since he was born!  And what a journey he's had.  I'm so very proud of him!

I couldn't have asked for a more loving son

Then off to Eckerd College to prove college kids are really a bunch of nuts/er nerds/er brilliant young people!

Yes, a college trip to Machu Pichu, Peru

Tai and his dear one, Kendra in 2015

You'd have to ask him more about his love of the outdoors!

Wishes for many more happy days, months and years to you, dear son!

You only turn 51 once

As I post this, the day before my eldest son's 51st birthday, I'm thinking how it was the last day of that pregnancy. 

A first time mother, about to give birth in a Naval Hospital in 1964.

I had no women friends, and my mother lived 800 miles away.  My grandmother was closer, but I didn't think to ask her to come help me through this.  I was so sure it would be easy to do.  I was so wrong.

Well, this is that good old 20-20 hindsight.

Women need other women when giving birth.  I now have so many more women friends who support me whenever I need to share, emote, laugh, or just let my hair down.  Why oh why did I think one man, my ever lovin' husband, would be enough for all the support I needed.  It had to do with believing mainly in romance...like novels and movies, and sometimes TV shows.  That of course eventually led to my wising up and getting a divorce a few years down the road.

In reality, doctors and male nurses helped deliver my son.  I'm so grateful that they knew what was going on, because I sure didn't.

I was really thrilled the first time they brought him to me the next morning after his birth.  The night before he'd been weighed and given a number based on who knows what (my nurse friends do)...and taken to the nursery, while I went to a room full of other new moms.

And I was taught how to breast feed, fortunately by a female nurse by now. 

I'm so glad that new-born babies are given more comforting and so are mothers these days.

But the main point of my story is that he's lived over half a century now, and is doing fine.  I'm so proud of him, for his accomplishments and his children.  He has a wonderful sense of humor, is an imaginative and creative person, is very intellectual, is a great dad, a gentle boyfriend to his lady love, and works diligently on his newish (to him) home.

Congratulations, Marty!

Wishing Plates

For my 70th birthday, I'm giving each of my three sons and their family members, a commemorative plate. 

I've called them Wishing Plates.  What I would want to wish for your birthday, or mine...and share with you!

These are the first ones that are acceptable...but they aren't perfect, unfortunately.  I'm still learning, and this project gave me lots of humility.

A few more may come out of the kiln before I give them to family members.  I'll try to take their pictures and post them here as well. 

I found that just putting wax on areas didn't mean the glaze would stay clear of them.  So I went through several extra steps before learning how to pour glaze quickly and shake the plates so the wax had a chance to retard some of the glaze. 

And writing in simple letters was harder than I thought, because I had different amounts of curve on those lips.  Oh my, I really wish I could make every plate closer to being the same as every other.  But I probably won't do this again.  So it's been definitely a labor of ...

what else, LOVE~!