My Mom's Life

I've started a new project that I am fairly excited about. For years, I have wanted my Mom to record her life somehow. After several attempts, I've finally hit on a solution that works for both of us. Awhile back, my kids and I came up with several questions for my Mom to answer and I sent them to her. Now that she's had time to come up with answers, my plan is to call her on my land line and take dictation, typing her answers on my computer as she speaks. This is not new to me, as I was a transcriber in a medical office before my first baby was born. I don't know why I didn't think of it before!

I assured my Mom that we didn't have to spend a long time on the phone, just take a few questions at a time. We started last Tuesday and in just 20 minutes, I got a page and a third. Tonight, I went over what she said and edited it. I'm writing it from her point of view which can be confusing but I think it will sound best that way. If we can do this once a week, it won't take too long. It was fun and interesting to hear her talk about her family and my Dad. Some things I knew about and others I didn't.

Mom turned 82 today, bless her heart. She was a farm girl in Arkansas until her family moved to California when she was 11. If she had stayed in Arkansas, she never would have met my Dad and, therefore, I wouldn't be here. Interesting.

I'm looking forward to our phone interviews.

Birthdays in Winter

Middle son, Alec, turned 14 last week. The kid is taller than me, taller than his older brother - and he's not done yet! He's at that in-between age, part boy, part young man. We got Alec a new guitar for his birthday and he was really thrilled, having outgrown his beginner guitar. I love it when Todd gives Alec a guitar lesson. A nice time for them both, I think. Alec has a lot of great qualities about him, but he's a hard kid to encourage without spoiling. I'm afraid I haven't done a good enough job in that area. Sigh. Got to work on that.

Carmen will be 11 this Monday. We bought her a pink ukulele and I can't wait for her to unwrap it! I just couldn't resist when I saw it at the music shop in town. They had about 10 ukuleles hanging on the wall, each a different bright and beautiful color. I think they're made in Hawaii. I want one for myself, in fact. Mother's Day gift, anyone? Hope she's not afraid to try playing it. I have been teaching her piano, using the same books that Chad's instructor used with him. She definitely has the talent and rhythm, I feel, and she has developed much greater patience in the past few months. I hope she stays with it.

Having two birthdays so close after Christmas is kind of a bummer but it is what it is. It's gotten easier now that the kids are older. Todd will actually get Carmen's birthday off this year which will make it even better!