Hiya! Dan here. This morning Mom sent an email to her family members about her Mom:

This is to remind everyone Mom would have celebrated her 89th birthday today.

I know we all wish she were here to celebrate with together. However take a minute to pause and just thank her for the contribution she made to your life personally.

I think that would be a great way to honor her today.

I think of all you daily and with much love,
Margie

My grandma, Loraine Mitchell, died when I was in kindgergarten (1975). The only thing I remember about it was when my Mom took me back to school. She told my teacher that if I looked like I was feeling down, it was probably because of Grandma's funeral.

I don't remember a whole lot about my grandma. I remember that Steph(my sister) and I would visit her and Gramps at their home at 52 Graham Street in Cincinnati. She would make us "brown cows" and "pink cows" (drinks made with ice cream and either root beer or cream soda, respectively).

I also remember that she showed us how to make a flower using some facial tissue, a pipe cleaner, and a little spritz of cologne. We would fold the tissue alternatively, like you would to make a fan. Then we would wrap an end of the pipe cleaner around the middle of the folded tissue. After that we would carefully peel the tissue up on both sides to create the petals of the flower. Then we'd spray a small amount of cologne to give our flower a scent.

I vaguely remember she called me "Little Bit." It turns out that she was petite herself, not much taller than 59 inches. I see a lot of her facial features in my aunts and uncles, and sometimes in me.

She also had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which contributed to her death. I found some posts from Mom's blog about it from the April 2003, when Mom had an echo cardiogram done:

• Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy Project
• Mom's personal reflection on being with her mother (my grandma) during her last days

I encourage you all to pray for my Mom. She has always been prone to feeling down on birth and death anniversaries.

crossposted to Journey Inside My Mind

Hiya! Dan here. I thought I'd post somewhat of an update on Mom. She's been working at a Tex-Mex restaurant she used to work at before she moved up to Ohio in 2002. She's also found someone with whom she's had a lot of conversations. I'll have to let her talk to you more about that.

There is a lot of drama going on in my family down in Texas, to be sure. For those that don't know, I have my mom, former stepdad, step-brother, and half sister. My half brother is stationed in the Navy somewhere near the Persian Gulf right now. I still consider them family. I've always thought of them as brothers and sisters, really.

Anyhow, I should let Mom elaborate more about what's been going on. She's been more close to the situation than I am. And I know that Mom will post when she gets a chance.

Signing off from Dayton, Ohio USA...