Happy Birthday - March 11

Happy Birthday to:

• My husband's sister, Mary. She's a fiercely private person, so I won't go into too many details of her life--like how old she is,etc.--but I did want to honor her and all she does. She is someone I've admired as a hard worker and strong woman, unafraid to voice her opinion. She keeps busy as a mother of two teenage daughters (which makes her a heroine, in my opinion, since I only have ONE teenage daughter, and sometimes it's enough to drive me to desperation!), wife, homemaker, and secretary/receptionist for her husband's business. She also is a past Worthy Matron of her local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. Because my husband and his brother live on the opposite side of the state, most of the care and responsibilities of looking after their parents have fallen heavily upon her. When her children were little, she started a day care in her home so that she could work as a stay-at-home mom. She devotedly takes her parents camping at their favorite spot every summer (situated in the semi-arid wasteland of Eastern Washington). This involves the roughing-it style of tent camping; hauling in all water and necessities; watching for rattlesnakes, cattle and coyotes; and being at the mercy of 100+ daytime temps and near-freezing nighttime temps. After her father's heart attack over a year ago, she takes him walking every weekday to get his needed exercise, because his macular degeneration has caused him to be legally blind and unable to walk alone. Although she has a tough-as-nails exterior, I know at her core she is a compassionate, caring person, evident in her love of animals, and her concern for her parents, elderly neighbors and the senior members of her Eastern Star chapter. Bless you, Mary!