happy birthday mum

on this day a very long time ago my mother entered this world into the arms of a woman name irene - a baker’s daughter - and a father named harold, who among other things was a lay preacher.

through her life my mother has been a person whom i can look to when i wonder how i will ever make it through the stumbling blocks that life sends my way. my mother has invariably pushed through or climbed over whatever got in her way. through reflecting upon her example i have often found the strength to trust in the process of my becoming regardless of the challenges placed before me that sometimes seem insurmountable.

i learned much about who i wish to be through her commitment to charitable work, her personal presence, her unflagging devotion to her friends, and her deep commitment to a family that has never been a family in the form she might wish. in the same way, i have learned much of my work ethic through observing the form her labour took as a personal secretary over many decades while working in a world that doesn't fully accept the notion that the quality of your work is a reflection and extension of who you are.

i am grateful for the many life affirming and life changing experiences that she has given me - many of which were onerous to both she and i at the time but which in retrospect were wise and fruitful decisions that have allowed me to move along my appointed paths. i am also grateful that when she had the opportunity (and just cause) she didn’t cut short my earthly visit!

on my mother’s birthday today i offer my deepest gratitude for the labour of love she incurred and eventually accepted through my wishing to be in this world.

thank you mum.

i love you.