Not many of us are blessed to see our Moms turn 90, not so!
I consider myself very lucky as Mom Lily has been through many ups and downs in the 90 years that she's been here on earth, many would have given up, yet Mom still remains spunky and full of wisdom! The phrase below is spot-on as far as this little lady is concerned...
Dynamite comes in small packages!
Childhood & growing up
Mom was a young teen when she was cruelly told by an envious cousin that the man she's been calling Dad all those years, was not her biological father.
She never got to meet this man, so that was a dream she never fulfilled.
My Ouma was a gracious, compassionate and honourable woman, but was considered to be from the wrong side of the tracks and his family would not allow them to get married.
My handsome and strong-willed Oupa took my Ouma under his wings and brought Mom up as his own.
When Mom was only three years old, this man finally plucked up the courage to take a stand against the wishes of his toffee-nosed family and came knocking on the door to demand his child, but my Oupa sent him packing!
Mom fell in love with my gentle giant teddy bear father, who was a talented musician and wowed her with his guitar strumming. My super talented Dad could play almost any instrument he picked up with no formal lessons and ended up playing in grand old ballrooms in his younger years!
Sad times
We lost my Dad unexpectedly some 18 years ago when he suffered an aortic aneurism; no time to say goodbye!
Barely three months later, the day after Christmas, my 42 year old brother had a massive heart attack and despite a paramedic living next door doing CPR, it was all in vain.
We were all shattered!
This was the second child Mom lost as my oldest brother committed suicide when he was only 26.
Another horrific tragedy was the murder of Mom's youngest brother and my very special uncle nine years ago; all traumatic events that still are very difficult to come to terms with.
Fun times
There were many fun times when the family got together throughout the years; the laughter would never end. I cannot remember any bad words between anyone at any time!
Mom never, ever smoked, nor was she a beer drinker, but this one pic with her play-acting, is too priceless not to share here!
Mom used to love fishing; always looked for an excuse to paint the walls, not simply one shade, oh no; she has very good taste and would choose the most gorgeous colours to go with the different rooms' decor.
She still is very particular about eating only healthy foods; no cream doughnuts for this little old gal!
Mom only has two sons and me now. That's all of us in the pics above, with hubby on the left hand side.
Health Scare
This Lily does not enjoy being planted on one place, loved walking, always had a wanderlust and was fiercely independent!
Therefore it was quite startling when she started having problems with her balance and would often have falls, so it was off to the doc.
The problem was a benign brain tumour almost the size of a golf ball which the specialists suspected had been there for many years, but is very slow growing.
They reckon as she was so fit, her body adjusted to this 'thing' inside her brain until it got bigger!
Brain fluids were building up and she underwent a successful VP Shunt procedure.
VP Shunt procedure Image Source
That was five years ago and Mom unfortunately fractured her ankle earlier this year so her balance problem has now worsened, much to her frustration and mine at times as I'm the nurse, so she understandably has some bad days as she no longer has the freedom to take a walk, even just in the garden.
We thankfully still manage to have some good old belly laughs at times!
The big milestone - 90
My sister in law arranged a little tea party just for our immediate family for the big Nine 0, taking a big load off my shoulders!
It was a lovely sunny day so we enjoyed the half an hour drive as they live on an estate in the countryside.
We had a small intimate party and it was great spending time just relaxing and reminiscing on fun times AND enjoying the most divine eats; of course me being a sweet tooth only took pics of the Caramel Cream gateaux and gorgeous little cupcakes!
Absolutely yummylicious!
My younger brother could not be there as he works abroad and has to spend a certain time out of the country to dodge the taxman, so during his break is currently visiting my nephew in Minneapolis and video-called us.
This beautiful Orchid arrived via courier from my nephew who always remembers his Ouma's birthday, no matter where in the world he is!
Mom Lily really is one in a million and a huge blessing to everyone in our family!
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