HAPPY BIRTHDAY,TO MY WIFE,,MY BEST FRIEND

[shortsassybc]

A BIG Happy Birthday PAT...knew i liked ya, another reason, we share same b-day...cool...and many more!

[rabihorcada]

Well, I am going to sneak in a little happy birthday message to the other birthday people who didn't tell us ...happy birthday, Sampati and ShortSassyBC.

[oshoes]

Gracias to everyone for all the birthday wishes. It was a good one for sure! I am not a person who really enjoys being made the center of attention, I actually dread my birthdays just because of that but, at the end of the dreaded day I am always feeling so priviliged to count you all as friends and I want to thank you for giving me that feeling. The rest of this post is a tribute to my Mother.
A gazillion years ago today (69) my mother who was 21 yrs old and booked for a C-section birth on March 21st (because of her small foot size LOL) went into labour and had to be transported by dogsled by my grandfather in the dark of night in a snowstorm to the only hospital in a very small Northern Ontario town about 10 miles away (Hearst) I spent the next 2 mos. in the nursery there waiting to go home with my Mom, the nurses would joke that they were going to be buying me my school books soon as I was the biggest baby there as my Mom developed a severe infection and Penicillin was in the very early stages of being accepted and not widely availabe. The Dr. who was tending my Mom and was also a good friend was treating her with Sulfa but she continued to run high fevers and was delirious. She required a hysterectomy and was seriously in danger of losing her life for many weeks. The Dr. sat by her bed day and night, he obtained some Penicillin from a colleague who got it to him from Toronto. He had never used it and was very fearful and uninformed about its use. He waited until he could no longer deny to himself that my Mom would die either way and finally gave it to her. She turned the corner and recovered. My father was a young airforce pilot and was declared missing in action on May 17th. that year (1943) It was the day we were discharged from hospital to the home and care of my maternal grandparents. Before she got the dreaded news about my father that day, she was having a nap on the couch and woke to the knock on the door about the news regarding my father to find that her wedding ring was missing from her finger. It was eventually found under the cushions of the couch as she had lost so much weight it had slipped off her finger while she slept. I do not know where my dear mother found the strength to go on and be the nurturing mother she always was. So on this day of my birth I raise my glass to her and share her story with all of you in tribute to her outer and inner beauty and strength. I will always miss her but especially on my birthday.

[oshoes]

A very Happy Birthday to my fellow Pisces amigas SamPatti and the Sassy one!!
I hope you celebrated it well and were happy with your day. It would be great if one day we could all be together to celebrate this day!
Patti, WHY havent we seen you? Last year it seems we ran into each other so often. I miss seeing you!

[Beckster]

Oh my, Pat! what a beautiful and moving story about your Mom! it's easy to forget that we have come from C-sections determined by foot size, to penicillin being taken for granted, in 1 lifetime. Your Mom MUST have been special for you to have turned out to be the remarkable person you are! Thanks for that memory! (and Happy Birthday to Sampati and Sassy too!!)

[rabihorcada]

That birthday story brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for braving the limelight and providing such a window into your life. I can see your mom now through looking at the way you are today, Oshoes. You are a very complex and in depth person. I always figured the nursing job expanded your all-encompassing humanity, and it is interesting to see that it started from before you were born with people dealing with hard core life and carrying on with a courageous spirit.

[mizzoujack]

It's always cool to read stories like that and reflect on how much things have changed in such a short window of time. My grandfather, who was an author and lived into his 90's, saw man first drive a car, fly an airplane and later walk on the moon...all in one lifetime! That truly was a touching tale, Pat. And I'll also add my birthday wishes to sampati and shortandsassy