Mom

Twenty years ago today, I pulled into the driveway of the house Doc grew up in with our friend The Strump Man, aka Kwis.

I had just finished up my 1st year of college. Doc and I were deep deep in love, and had planned for me to travel to his home town in Chicagoland to meet his family. He would be leaving in a couple months for a two-year mission in Argentina, and we were angling to spend as much time as possible together.

His family knew I was coming of course, but they weren't expecting us till later the next day. Kwis and I had thought we'd need to take more breaks, but ended up just burning rubber for two straight days. We got to their hometown at about 9:15 pm on April 21st...which happened to be Doc's mom's birthday.

My first thought when we pulled into the driveway was that the house was absolutely enchanting! It was a beautiful English Tudor, with a long, graceful lawn stretching out before it. Doc hadn't ever described his home...in fact when he'd visited mine (which was a study in contrasts compared to his), he'd said it was "about the same as his". I'm sure he meant to be kind and put me at ease...or maybe he was just so blinded by love, so bedazzled by the force of my overpowering beauty, that he just didn't notice the surroundings I grew up in. (If you're taking bets, I'd put yer money on the first option.)

Kwis and I got out of the car and paused in the dark. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Doc's parents had purchased him a round-trip flight when he'd flown out to college, and his return flight wasn't till the next day. So I would be meeting the family without him present (!) You must realize that I fully expected these people to be my future in-laws at the time. Needless-to-say, I was grateful Kwis was there.

We rang the doorbell, and within a moment I watched through the glass as a couple of cute, squirrelly little boys and a delicate, pretty young woman appeared in the foyer, followed by the most beautiful mom in a bathrobe you've ever seen. She just looked angelic to me.

For a moment, I felt bad arriving right before bedtime. Maybe we should have slept at a rest stop I thought. But then the door opened, and the warmest welcome of my life was extended. My nerves were quickly forgotten as Doc's mom pulled me into a big hug and said, "Oh! This is the best birthday present I've ever received...a new daughter!"

A pause is in order here, because as any regular readers of my blog might have gleaned, I'd kind of been "up for adoption" for as long as I could remember. I wasn't really accustomed to, nor was I expecting such complete acceptance when first meeting these people. But mom singlehandedly made me feel so welcome, so much a part of the family, that it quickly felt like I'd known them forever. Twenty years ago today is still among the very happiest moments of my life. It was a significant turning point for one very lucky little jeul.

This past Saturday, we got together with the family to celebrate mom's birthday. Those cute, squirrelly boys are not so little anymore, and they have cute, squirrelly little kids of their own now, as does the lovely young woman. It was such a joy to be with these dear, dear people who have become my tribe. And for twenty years, in concert with dad, mom has stood at the head of that tribe, nourishing, guiding, loving, serving, mom-ee-ing and leading each of us blessed enough to have found ourself counted among her people. She also feeds us yummy food all the time!

Here are twenty random shots from our fun afternoon picnic in the park to celebrate the past 20 years of my life with you as my mom. I don't know how I managed before you! Happy Birthday today, and may you have 40 great ones more! I♥you!