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"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."
- Unknown

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
- Handed down through the ages.

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."
- John Wayne



Happy Birthday, Mama!!!

Once upon a time, in a land far away (okay, Illinois),
a baby girl was born to Wilma & Skeets.

The baby grew into a lovely little girl, and lots of pictures were taken so they could be sent to her daddy serving overseas in WWII.





The little girl (center bottom) grew up surrounded by lots and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles.
After her daddy came home from the war, the stork brought the little girl a baby brother!
 The little girl grew into a stunningly beautiful young woman (LOOK at that bone structure!!).  Yowzah!

Our heroine went away to college and met a tall young man who wore glasses.  He also owned a brand new car.  (Ah-hem, the only new car he's EVER owned!)
On a sweltering night in August, she married the young man.

The couple lived frugally but happily in northeastern Illinois.
Hey, I said 'happily'!
This is their first home (no joke!); The Birthday Girl is sitting on the right.
What a way to start married life:  bunk beds!  (They were hard to make up each morning, too!)
Eventually, the lovely woman and the tall man had a wonderful, adorable, playful, cherubic, angelic, baby girl.

ME!!
The little family moved to northeastern Minnesota where they'd always dreamed of living.  They worked very hard to eke out a life there.



Mom & Max
Eventually the lovely woman and her tall drink o' water bought a restaurant so they could put their daughter through college.  They worked there even harder, if such a thing were possible.

The lovely, hardworking woman's parents would make the drive from northeastern Illinois to northeastern Minnesota twice every year.  Here our heroine is at the restaurant with her dad.  (Think they're related?)  P.S.  Mom, you were 4 years older in this picture than I am now!
Under extra duress from the pressures of the restaurant, Mama Pea occasionally found it necessary to beat her only child into hysterics with a limp bread stick.
20 (?) years later, and they were still horsing around!  (Papa Pea is in there, too, under Mama Pea.)
Time has been good to Mama Pea, but, sadly, NO ONE is free from the affects of aging.  Here she is today:



















Happy Birthday, Mama, you hard worker, you!

19 comments:

  1. Hahahahahahahahaha!!! Great homage to a great woman!

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  2. I am in TEARS! What a wonderful post! And the photos are amazing and gorgeous, and she still is! Charlie wants to know where that bike is now, it's like the one he wants LOL!

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  3. LOL!!! What an amazing beautiful mom you have. I think that age has only increased her beauty!

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  4. That last picture is quite something!! ;) What a woman she is, and what a lucky girl you are to have her as your mom! <3

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  5. Totally unexpected ending! lol!

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  6. awesome job, chickie. There has never been a lack of photos taken in our family!!! Uncle J

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  7. How fun!! I love the picture on the motorcycle. Thanks for sharing a bit of your mom with us.

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  8. Oh you are such a bad little girl! It wont be a limp bread stick that she comes at you with for that last photo, my dear!

    Wonderful! Thank you so much for the lovely story and awesome photos! I loved it!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!!!

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  9. Happy Birthday Mama Pea! I love reading about your adventures!

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  10. What a wonderful job you've done!!
    Though-I'm thinking you might not get many cookies after this......
    She might even dig up a limp breadstick again to beat you with!
    LOL-this was great!

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  11. great photo's for a great lady you are very lucky to have such a great mom. BE very careful of the "pitchfork"

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  12. Oh, it WAS so fun to look at all those pictures! And, you're all right: she might go after me with a pitchfork instead of a limp bread stick! :) Although, she and Dad were laughing AWFULLY hard last night when they saw the post! (At her birthday dinner, I told her that her blog had been "hacked".) AND, they knew at the restaurant that it was her birthday (but, please NO fanfare!): and, with nothing more than a quiet "Happy Birthday" from the waitress, they cut our bill in HALF! HOW sweet!

    And, thanks, Uncle! That means a lot. :) xoxo

    Hmmmm, I might have to dig some more photos out for Mother's Day . . . !

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  13. Love it! Thanks for sharing:) I hope she has the best birthday ever!!!

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  14. Thanks, Everybody, for taking the time to hop on over here and to leave your wonderful comments! What a crazy montage CM pulled together. I haven't seen some of those pictures in YEARS! (Gratefully!) I still don't know how they knew it was my birthday last night at the restaurant (we know the waitress and the owners casually, CM knew the bartender) but I have a strong suspicion I should blame that one on CM also. Thanks again and hope you got as good a laugh as I did!

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  15. A bit late, but Happy Birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed those pictures.

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  16. Oh, rats! As usual, I am the last one to know~~~that is such a wonderful tribute, Chicken Mama. You are right, that is some great bone structure! What a lovely woman your mother is (in every sense of the word), and you ain't so bad yourself!

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  17. I just realized in looking over this post again . . . that last picture DOES look a lot like me! (Hope I'm still in the garden at 104!!)

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  18. I'm late reading this too-- but not too late, I hope, to add my voice to the many good wishes herein! Someday, I hope I have a funny, capable, sneaky daughter like ChickenMama, and I want to be a hard-working, capable, enterprising woman like MamaPea!!!

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  19. Susan and MaineCelt, thank you for the props. MC, your comment particularly touched me: to have a daughter like me! :) :) :) xoxox P.S. Although, truthfully, I'm not sure I would wish THAT on anyone! ;)

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