Happy Birthday, Mom!

I realize the day is almost over already. We got in at dinnertime from an overnight at a waterpark hotel. But I don't want to miss the opportunity to wish my mom a Happy Birthday here in the blogosphere (I did tell her in person this afternoon).

Here's one of my favorite stories about my mom:
Many years back, before ceiling fans became ubiquitous in most homes, my parents decided they wanted to buy one for the kitchen. They'd been out shopping, but my mom got stuck on the issue of how many blades the fan should have: four or five. Then at church she happened to notice the fans spinning overhead. They looked nice, but how many blades did they have? She stared and stared, trying to count the moving blades. Finally she turned to my sister (who had to have been about nine at the time). "How many blades are on the fans?", she whispered. My sister looked up and quickly answered, "five". Mom was shocked at her speedy answer. "How do you know that?" she asked. "Just blink real fast when you're looking at them," my sister answered. Mom tried it and it worked. She wondered if my then seven-year-old brother knew the same trick, so she asked him the question too. "How many blades are on the fans?". My brother responded even more rapidly, "five". This blew Mom away. "How did you know that?", she asked again. My brother pointed toward the back of the church and whispered, "because that one's turned off".

Thanks for making us laugh, Mom! We love you! And you know what? The mother's curse worked on me. I'm always doing the same kinds of things to make my husband and kids laugh too. Hope you had a wonderful day!