Today is my mom’s 60th birthday. These are 60 reasons to celebrate my mother.

1. Her love of essential oils.
2. The fun we have when we swim in the pond.
3. Her knowledge of cattle.
4. The memories of birthday parties with so many special cakes.
5. Her courage at difficult times in her life
6. Her faith that carries her through each day.
7. Her ability to make a new friend in a crowd.
8. Her patience throughout the stages of her kids’ lives.
9. How she made a station wagon seem cool.
10. The love of nature that she continues to pass on.
11. How she taught me how to recycle.
12. How she could make fun out of mating socks or picking up trash.
13. Her example in education – just keep going until you reach your goals.
14. The love of plants that is in our blood.
15. The way she always needs something to drink and has a glass of tea and a cooler in her car all the time.
16. How she still does stockings for each of us at Christmas.
17. The strange gadgets she finds that have so many uses.
18. The fun gifts she sends in the mail to celebrate the holidays.
19. The Fathead of herself that she sent when she could not attend Grandparents Day in person.
20. How no matter what is happening in her own life, she takes time for a friend.
21. Her strength in starting a career after having a family.
22. Her expectation of good grades that set us up for hard work and success throughout life (at least with the four older kids – the youngest got away with everything!)
23. How she gave each of her kids what they needed at different times.
24. Her love of reading that she instilled in us at a young age.
25. How she allowed and encouraged our adventures and make believe.
26. How she allowed my adventures as a young adult, even when they scared her to death.
27. Her multiple choices of soaps and shampoos in the shower on any given day.
28. Her ability to listen and encourage through all of our trials.
29. How her WW diet taught us to eat rare vegetables and liver and other strange food groups.
30. Her courage in great endeavors like driving a bus and IAing cows.
31. Her love of good country music – those roots still run deep.
32. Her talent in canning and freezing and being able to pull a meal out of her freezer.
33. Her well stocked frig without a spot for anything else.
34. Her thoughtfulness in being able to offer any coffee creamer under the sun.
35. Her love for Little Women.
36. Her obsession with the Royals. KC and British
37. Her desire to live at Downton.
38. How she does not like cantaloupe, but the fun when every once in awhile she will try it just in case she has changed her mind.
39. Her quotes from Seinfeld.
40. How she shares the really funny Maxine jokes.
41. Her love of Jane Austen or at least movies based on her books.
42. How phrases like, ‘Who wants to see something pretty?’ will forever make me smile.
43. The way she celebrates when she wins a board game or at cards.
44. How she uses Vick’s under her nose when she may come into contact with foul odors.
45. How she gave me green bowls for about 8 birthdays in a row.
46. How she packs the kitchen sink – diffuser, bed side lamp, and much more- for a weekend get away.
47. That she survived four kids under 5 when she was still quite young.
48. The fun things we always had at our house like Tang.
49. How her hoarding tendencies turn into priceless gifts – our toys and books and other treasures.
50. Her fun little spoons and special cups that make all who are visiting feel special.
51. Her collecting habit that seems to have come from her grandma and mother and of which she is passing on to me (teacups, teapots/salt & pepper shakers, sampler cups, unicorns – four generations of collectors).
52. How she thinks of the best gifts for her sisters and daughters. Even if it is the same, it feels special.
53. Her obsession with small bowls and different dishes.
54. Her courage to love again.
55. The many inside jokes we share and funny stories like leaving her sleeping during Black Friday shopping.
56. How her old habits die hard like hanging clothes on the line.
57. How she continues to grow my spiritual faith through prayer and example and encouragement.
58. How much she loves being Mimi CeCe.
59. How much she is like good wine – just keeps getting better with age!
60. How much she loves her husband, her kids, her grand babies, her mom, her sisters and brothers and her many, many friends.

Mom, I hope this was truly a spook-tacular 60th birthday!