Today my Mom turned 78

Happy Birthday to a fellow AARP member.

What do I like about my mom? Quite a bit, actually. One of the best things was that somehow she made us (i.e., her children) believe that it just wasn't possible that we wouldn't do our tasks well and behave well -- it was just something she knew would happen, and that somehow made us know it also. Didn't involve cajoling, reminders, threats (if you don't do or behave well, this consequence will happen) or bribes (if you do this, I'll give you this). No matter how well disguised, those techniques generally don't work so well. Her approach leaves a kid free to go out and be herself or himself with great confidence in success, knowing that the support would always be there.

Of course she also worked like a dog for us without ever talking about how hard she was working. As adults I think we now have some perspective on that workload - but not really. Nine kids is a lot. No fast food or other takeout restaurant nearby. None of the other conveniences that we all rely on now whenever we think we "need a break." This was an excellent model for a kid. Do your work, don't talk about how much you work.

All that made us feel mighty secure. Even if that concept has been trivialized by the pop psychology industry, it's a mighty good thing for a kid always to feel that way, even into the adult years.

Thanks from your 50-year-old kid.

Unexpected 50th Fun; HoHoKam Park

Patricia and I enjoyed a total surprise when our five sneaky children pulled off a 50th birthday weekend for us. (My birthday is already old news, while Patricia’s is coming up on April 6.) The conspiracy was only revealed Thursday evening when I heard the unmistakable giggling of my two daughters sneaking around the back patio around 11:30p in the company of their chauffeur, Chris, after flying in from Chicago and Washington DC. So they woke up their mother right away and the weekend was launched.

Fun things:

• Going to Z Tejas for lunch on Friday and watching our tourist daughters get a sunburn over lunch hour on the patio


• Sitting around and talking and watching NCAA tournament upsets and/or ridiculously close finishes (including Washington’s version of Jon Blaha scrapping his way to defeat)


• Dinner with just the seven of us around the table on Friday evening (my favorite part of the weekend)


• Waking up Saturday morning to intense 50th decorations in the family room


• Spring training baseball on an 86-degree Saturday afternoon at HoHokam Park in Mesa (Cubs 1, Athletics 0 in 10 innings) (photos show our somewhat distant vantage point plus enthusiastic 7th inning stretch vocalizing)
  


• Waiting for Mary Beth Stern to come by for dinner on Saturday only to have about 30 people show up for a great birthday celebration


• Watching our sneaky kids handle shopping, decorating, food prep, cleanup etc. while they also paid for it all. Each one of them was integral to the event.
  

This was a ridiculously nice thing for them to do. It won’t be forgotten.

A gift for my 50th birthday . . .

Among the other fine cards, gifts, phone calls and emails for my 50th birthday, one gift just stands out. Here I am modeling a T-shirt from Patrick. With both state universities represented in our household both by esteemed graduates and current students, we do have some fun with the U of A-ASU thing. (Except when U of A collapsed against Illinois in last year’s NCAA basketball tournament and the ASU fans were not completely sympathetic. Which they should be considering the sympathy constantly required in following ASU’s basketball team.) Anyway, it’s a fine shirt and will resolve the game-day wardrobe dilemma when the schools play each other next November.

143 Days Without Rain (but not 144)

Yes, Phoenix’s record streak of 143 days without rain was broken today. The previous record was only in the 105 range. This has been a strange year – very little snow (and no skiing at all) in the high country, fire restrictions already starting to be put into place, etc. The early part of 2005 was just the opposite.

Weather was a big topic back on the farm in my youthful days, which is understandable given the economic impact. (It’s still a common conversation topic even here in Phoenix where the weather forecasters have the easiest job around, I guess because weather is the ultimate common conversation topic.) Anyway, a guy named Pete Kirsch drove truck for us in the corn-shelling business. He specialized in unusual responses to standardized questions (among other witticisms). When asked the standard question, “Do you think it’s going to rain?”, he would say “It will be a long dry spell if it doesn’t.” Now I know what he meant.