My Mom's 57th Birthday, and 7 photos I would mail in her birthday card...

October 15, next Wednesday...This is the day my mom would have turned 57.

Fifty-seven is so young in the world of healthcare. My grandparents are all alive at around 80 years old.

In some ways, the more I learn to know God and the more my heart is softened, the more I miss her. If I could send her a birthday card, here are some photos I would slide in the envelope and some of the things I would tell her.

Did you know you have two sets of twin grandsons?

Did you know you have two beautiful granddaughters and two grandsons, besides Brad who you already know?

Those twins on grandpa's lap love him better than any of the aunts, I'm afraid.

You know how I wanted to be a writer, not a nurse?  I started working and I loved it.  My jobs became a source of healing for me, as I thought about the comparison of the physical heart with the soul.  I'm now a heart surgery coordinator.  I make lists of all the vocabulary words I learn from the surgeons and cardiologists and other well-worded people around me.  I work with a intelligent and caring team, the perfect alternate job for a writer.

This is the front porch of the house I bought after I started at my new job and realized God wanted me to stay in Elkhart.  In the process, some of my best friends also moved to Elkhart and I love going to their houses.  

This is my mentor and work partner Sue and I on pink hard hat day.  We made a human pink ribbon on the top floor of the parking garage.

We found the baby clothes you left us in the closet!

I have so many people who bless my life, that I wish I was better at blessing them back and not being impatient when people knock on my door.

Happy Birthday! 

Maybe she already knows all of this....how can we know?  And if I would have time, I would tell her how God has blessed me several specific times on her birthday....so much so that I begin to wonder, what good thing will God do for me this October 15th?  But the truth is, I have so many blessings already, perhaps I wouldn't even notice.....God is so good.