Labor Day weekend was a little extra special this year. As most of the family was going to be in Idaho for the holiday weekend, Aunt Jan decided to coordinate a little early birthday party for Grandma Shirley, who turns 90 this year.
Jan worked very hard to ensure that the party was a surprise. Grandma knew of the party, as we have one for Labor Day every year. She was more than a little surprised when a birthday cake with her name on it was brought out with candles alight.
Jan also hit a home run with the birthday gift. She had each of Marge’s children and grandchildren write a special reflection about Grandma. She then printed them and arranged them in a book with a picture of the families on a background themed around the writer. It was touching.
Though I can’t remember word for word what I said in my reflection, I can reflect on some of the things that make Grandma special. Some of my earliest memories of Marge relate to summers spent at her home, where we would get eaten alive by mosquitoes. She always had a small green bottle with some salve with a sharp smell. She would gently dab our affected skin with the ointment, which made the itch disappear. She would take us to the St. Anthony sand dunes and stand atop the hill as a sentinel, guarding against any dune buggies that might come our way.
Marge has one of the warmest spirits I have ever encountered. I cannot recall a time when I felt that I was in trouble, though there were many times that I should have been. When as kids (and later as adults) we would do something naughty, she would just purse her lips together and raise her eyebrows. She even did this to me this weekend, when I told her I would be driving home at night, something she does not approve of.
Her mannerisms are quite unique. She has a deep, hearty laugh that Mrs. Bird (now deceased) used to imitate. And whenever we tell her something of import, she gives her famous phrase “Well for Heaven’s sake.”
I remember times when we were out hunting Christmas trees until well after dark, and returning to her house to see her standing out front, on patrol with her hands on her hips. And regardless of how late it was, there was always a hot meal served to us.
It is no secret that I still look up to my father. And when I reflect on the person he has become, I have to take note of the kind of person who raised him, and the wonderful attributes he inherited from her, as well as the hard work ethic that was instilled in him. I am grateful for the influence that Grandma Shirley has had in my life, and I am thankful that my children have had a chance to know her and spend some time with her.
Happy Birthday, Marge Shirley!
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