Happy birthday

On September 19th, 1910 Florence Alberta Stimpert came into this world.  Timing was perfect for her birth.  Halley's Comet was soaring through the sky.  And if ever a life was lived at comet speed, it was hers.

She was the third child of my grandfather's third marriage.  His previous wives had died and left him with seven children to raise.  He married my grandmother who quickly took over the family and then added two more sons, followed by my mom.  

She was a very special person.  Of course, I have a slight bias since I am her daughter.  But now on the occasion of her 105th birthday I am thinking of all the things she experienced in her life.

When she was born, women did not have the right to vote.  When she was born, the world was teetering on the edge of the war to end all wars.  She lost a brother to the flu of 1918.  She lost another brother after the Allied Invasion of France in 1944.  She was a young woman during the Great Depression.  And all of her life she fought for what she felt was best for her family.

She never backed down.  When she decided she wanted to teach physical education in the early '30s, she was met with all sorts of resistance.  But she found a way.  Her first job was in what was to become my hometown.  I'm sure several people wondered just what this young woman was doing teaching their daughters to run and jump and play games that were denied them before.

When we were young she went back to work.  Not many wives and mothers did this.  But she knew that she and my dad could never afford to send us to college if she didn't work.  Again, she swam against the current of popular opinion.  She opened a toy and children's clothing store and made it a successful business.  And then she went back to teaching.

Tragedy struck when she was widowed at age 47.  But she forged ahead.  Always, always in her mind was the fact that she needed to give her children the best start that she could provide them.

And most of her dreams came true.  

Shortly after her 95th birthday my niece brought her daughter to visit us from New Jersey.  Holding her first great-grandchild I could almost see the wheels turning in my mother's brain.  This little one is very special.  She will make her mark on the world.  

Always looking forward.  Never letting the past drag her down.  That was my mom.

And the older I get, the more I realize the legacy she left for me.

Happy birthday Mom.  I love you.  And I always will.