M is for the Million Things...

They say age is just a number, but even big ages don't necessarily mean a lot of points in Scrabble!

Why do we care about Scrabble? That was not one of the games we played at my mother's 85th birthday party today. But we did have some fun with letters.

After enjoying lunch and cake with family, the 8 R's took the stage. Yes, we were at a fellowship hall at Skonewood, up the road from Mom's, and it came with a stage!

We sang a standby of Mother's Day programs from way back when all of us were kids.

"M" is for the million things she gave me
"O" means only that she's growing old
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me
"H" is for her heart of purest gold
"E" is for her eyes with love-light shining
"R" means right and right she'll always be
 Put them all together they spell MOTHER, a word that means the world to me.

The second time through we said R means... Rayna, Romey, Renell, RoAnn, Ron, Rachel, Robyn, Raylene. We each yelled our name (with some flair, naturally). In case you were wondering, yes, we made her cry. For a good reason for once! We weren't naughty.

We also sang the song One Day at a Time, which Mom often listened to on her record player (way back in the day). Raylene and I also performed (using that word lightly) a few songs we used to sing to the "old people" who visited Skonewood from area nursing homes. Again, way, way back in the day. I can't believe we remembered lyrics and actions. Not sure how we sounded, but when it comes to family, I don't embarrass easily. And moms are trained to say "good job" no matter what!

Even though I saw everyone at our uncle's funeral Monday, it was nice to see each other again on a happy occasion. That's how Mom wanted it. And when you're 85 (or 23 in Scrabble), you make the rules.

M is for a million blessings with this family!