One of the funniest moments that happened while Mom and I were in Ireland, happened on the beach in Inch. As we walked out onto the sand, close to the water, we passed various bits of art work left behind by previous visitors. People had drawn their own graffiti into the sand. Most of them were we were here type messages, but there were pictures as well. I lost track of mom while I was taking pictures of the bay and the sand. When I turned around, I saw her looking down at one picture in particular. She looked up at me, perplexed, and asked "Is it a cow?" I looked down at the image she had been studying and choked on laughter. There, carefully etched into the sand, was a giant penis. "No mom" I said. "It's a penis". I tell this story today because yesterday was mom's birthday and I thought she could use a laugh. Mom has taught me many things in life. She taught me how to ride a bike, use a sewing machine and bake cookies. I have to say, it's kind of nice to be able to teach her a thing or two even if it is graffiti penises. I love that we got to experience that trip to Ireland together. My favorite thing of that trip was every time I panned to her with the video camera and how dang cute and happy she looked. I want that for her every day.

Mom, I hope your day was grand yesterday and full of wonderful things. I hope that you retain all of those great memories that we made last year. I hope that you took time for yourself. I hope that you took time to be happy for yourself. Happiest of Birthdays to you and a very Happy Love Thursday!