Happy 80th Birthday, Mom

Today would've been Mom's 80th birthday. I was thinking that we would've probably had some sort of party for her--a small get together because she didn't really like to have a big deal made of of things. (Not Dad, though! He went to Phoenix on his 80th to party with his brothers.) Anyway, I would've wanted to make the day special for her.

I took some flowers to Cresthaven today. This is the first time I've used the vase thing. I think they look nice. I hope she likes them.

I miss you, Mom. I love you.

Susie

I was invited by my cousin, Mike Drehobl, to participate in the family NCAA Tourney pool. I haven't paid much attention to the tourney since Dad died. He used to keep a bracket on the fridge and we would watch the games together. He didn't do a pool, but he would just keep track of who won and who lost. So, I did the pool with Mike and co. and it's fun.

I think I'll always think of Dad during tourney time and the bracket he cut out from the newspaper on the fridge with winners written in red ink. A few times I printed him out one from the Internet.

I miss you, Dad.

Love,
Susie

Last week I bought a new car--a Chevy Equinox. I had debated about whether to buy GM again since I would no longer get Dad's discount and since, well, the future of GM is in question. I was free at last! No longer was it mandated to buy GM! I looked at Hondas and Toyotas online. But, in the end...I couldn't do it. I couldn't go against tradition. A non-GM car had never been parked in our driveway! And, I wanted to honor Dad and the 37 years he put in at Central Foundry. So, a GM vehicle is parked in the driveway--as it should be and will be as long as GM stays afloat.

I love you, Dad. Thank you for all your hard work and for providing your family with everything we needed and then some. We never went without and we always had a stable environment to grow up in.

Love,
Susie


p.s. It was hard for me to get rid of the Vibe. Mom and Dad rode in that car many times. I took them to church. I took Mom shopping in Indy in that car. It was the last car of mine they will ever have ridden in. They liked it--esp. Mom. I think she would have liked my new one, too. It feels strange to not be able to show them my new car as I've always done.

I miss you Mom and Dad.