I love this photo; it makes me smile, not just because nephew Caden is so sweet, but because of my mom's expression. She's the epitomy of "young at heart," bringing a joyful enthusisasm to every celebration, finding fun in mundane things, and always ready with a song.
For many years, on my birthday, Mom has called my house and left messages on the answering machine, singing "Happy Birthday" to me. (I think she just did it one time, out-of-the-blue because I missed her call, but I loved it so much, she's done it *every year since.) I absolutely love it; it's so sweet and makes my birthday truly special. My "big day" is never complete until I listen to my song.
I don't look forward to the birthdays after Mom is gone, so that's why, a few years ago, I asked her to let me record her singing to me (cuz I'm just that morbid!) Mom cheerfully agreed!
Before you listen, I have to give you a little background... Believe it or not, when I was a little girl, I was a real chatterbox! By the age of 5, my dad had affectionately nicknamed me "Barbara Jean, The Talking Machine." Click here to hear my song: Happy Birthday to Me!
And by the way, thanks for the gift! (Your reading my blog; it's such a pleasure to have your company :)
Barb
P.S. Here's an outake of the song, in case you also need to laugh today. Our Cooper (dog) kept whining while Mom was singing, and it was cracking Mom up to see me giving him stern looks and getting so irritated with him.
P.P.S. *Mom forgot to call me on my birthday last year. It was a good dry-run, though, because I was able to simply pull up my recording, and that made up for her lapse. I figure she's 83 this year; she's entitled to a few slips.
Happy Birthday! Your mom's voice is beautiful... it has that old fashioned feel to it. (And I hope she would take that as a compliment!)I can feel her love and zest for life as I listen to her sing!
ReplyDeleteYou were wise to record your mom's song.