happy birthday, mama!

I could tell you a billion things about my mama, and I'll start with a few:

She makes the best egg salad in town. My love of pancakes comes straight from her kitchen, and she made them perfectly golden and perfectly fluffy, every time. I'm hoping for her frame when I'm her age. She can do anything a guy can do, maybe better. Her house is immaculate and her constant request that I make my bed finally paid off.

The Friday song was our thing and it still brings me joy.

"Friday, Friday, Friday is my favorite day.
Monday is a bummer, Tuesday's only fair.
Wednesday's getting better, Thursday's almost there.
But Friday, Friday, Friday is my favorite...
Friday is my favorite...
Friday is my favorite daaaaayyyyy."

She woke me up with it every Friday morning, and I wouldn't get out of bed until we had perfectly harmonized (but what does an 11 year old know about perfect harmonies??...I'm sure it sounded awful) that last "day." Then I could wake up and start my day, and maybe even let her French braid my hair and crimp the bottoms.


She had this beautiful blue dress that I always asked her to wear. On Mother's Day, on her birthday, on my birthday, to my graduation. It was beautiful and she was beautiful in it. If she still had it, I'd ask her to wear it today.

But many things have changed between now and then.
I will say, in all honesty, that more than a billion wonderful memories, my favorite thing about my mama is who she is today. I've learned lessons in the last five years that were lost in translation when I lived down the hall. Now, she teaches me across state lines, on our Saturday morning phone calls or in forwarded emails, and through plenty of heartache. Lessons about generosity and love like only a mama can give. And it is a beautiful thing, a gift, to follow in her legacy of grace, to see what happens when a woman's heart is touched by God and a life is transformed. It was a beautiful thing to watch her bring our family back together and get the story she dreamed of.



Now, she is the consistent advocate for my heart and I could appreciate nothing more than the unwavering support that she gives, the confidence that she has in me and the love that she shows as we talk through life decisions and tell little stories and remember the past. She chooses encouragement over criticism, forgiveness over frustration, grace and generosity and adventure, over and over and over again.


Saturday morning, she's the first person I call and I hope it stays that way forever.

Happy Birthday Mama!
I love you!

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine -
she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.

--Terri Guillemets

happy birthday, daddy!

**My dad's birthday is on Thursday, but I'm impatient and wanted to post this today! Why not celebrate all week, right?! Happy Birthday Daddy!**

Everybody thinks that their dad is the best. The strongest, the smartest, the most capable of beating up some other dad. As a bratty 10-year old, I remember saying things like, "Ya, well...my dad will sue your dad!" He joked about “strongly-worded letters” to anybody who messed with his kiddo girl. That’s what he calls me, even to this day. I guess for a dad, your daughter never really grows up. I moved out, pay my own bills, make my own decisions (mostly) and yet, I’m still his little girl.

It's true, though, that my dad is the best. He's frustratingly intelligent. He knows something about everything. When your dad is Michael J. Kimball, Esq., you learn to articulate and argue well out of necessity. And you still can't out-argue him. But in the meantime, you learn a lot: about the power of words and the importance of knowledge, among many other things. It was my daddy that taught me most of what I know. In Junior High, he'd attempt to explain chemical reactions and concepts of economics to me, things like depreciation and elasticity. Then he'd build a bookshelf or teach me to change the tires on my car, check the air pressure, drive a manual or even tow a boat. When I brag about being able to do those things, I'm actually bragging about my dad, the most versatile person I know, who lovingly took the time to teach and equip me for all kinds of life situations and anything involving an engine.

So yes, I'll brag about my dad. It is his birthday, after all. Sure, he can be embarrassing at times. Maybe a little too protective in line for the ski lift, kind of a crazy driver. We don't see eye-to-eye on everything, and I've come to grips with his humanity; but still, he's my dad and he's the best man I've ever known.

He used to read to me, every night before bed. Silly books like “Feelings” and “Firehorse.” (My book choice alone proves how much he loves me...) He is personally responsible for my “just one more chapter before I go to sleep” habit.

He handled a crazy teenage daughter and crazier teenage son like no other single dad I’ve met. He’d laugh when I dramatically stomped up the stairs and slammed the door, but he’d apologize if he knew that he had hurt me. He’d rub my back when I cried, take me to Target when I needed a new turtleneck, watch North Shore with us for the 142nd time. He never stopped telling us how much he loved us. I never doubted it for a second.

After my brother moved out, it was just the two of us. Every night we would have dinner together: Cafe Tandoor or Taco Bell (he is personally responsible for my Taco Bell obsession). We’d discuss politics and faith and eventually, I started trusting him with boys. He became privy to stories and dreams and jokes about paying for my wedding (which he still doesn’t find all that funny...). When I moved to San Diego, he became my best friend. I told everybody stories about how cool my dad is and made them watch the slideshow I made for his 50th birthday. I reverted back to elementary school: “my dad is better than your dad.” My dad can fly. My dad can read an entire book in one day. He can fix any computer problem and can count backwards from 100 by 3.

He set the standard high. By loving my brother and I the way that he does, he’s set the standard high.

They say you’ll end up with someone like your dad. I probably won’t marry a conservative and I wouldn’t be surprised if my husband doesn’t know how to construct a cheese cave.

But you can hold me to this:

He will be strong and fearless

he will love unconditionally

he will read to me before bed and rub my back when I cry

he will encourage me to follow my dreams

he will remind me to see the big picture

he will make difficult decisions for the sake of his family

he will shamelessly listen to tacky music (Really, dad?! Liz Phair?!)

he will make me proud to bear his last name.

Happy Birthday to the Best Daddy There Ever Was!

birthdays, birthdays

"it takes a long time to grow young"

--Pablo Picasso

[why birthdays are awesome]

for one day a year, no matter what, people (your best friends or your second cousin or the random person that you last saw at thursday night karaoke) stop to remember you. they take time out of their days to give hugs and sometimes flowers, to tell funny stories and show you their love.

in the midst of our crazy busy lives and full schedules and complex relationships,

it's nice to be loved.

august 4, 1989: cake love runs deep

on my birthday, it's only fair to celebrate my mommy, who gave birth to me and is really the reason that i can celebrate. and my dad, because i think we all know how pregnancy works. and i would be absolutely ungrateful if i didn't acknowledge the creator of chocolate cake: these last twenty-two years wouldn't have been the same without you.

here's to twenty-two or fourty-four or sixty-six (but probably not eighty-eight, statistically speaking) more!!

[other wonderful people celebrating today]

1. miss elizabeth ashley senna, who is beautiful and wonderful and loves birthdays as much me

2. mr peter hootman

3. mr president (barack obama)

4. probably a billion other people worth noting!

happy birthday, happy wednesday, happy life :)

Dottee Lee

“The best way to learn to be a lady is to see how other ladies do it.”

--Mae West

in 54 years,

if i have any share of her strength, her compassion, her adventure, her beauty,

i will be content.

happy 76th birthday, gram

...I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U-I-R-in-love-with-you!

monday musings

the answer, it turns out, is no
no dogs allowed

the answer, it turns out, is also yes
far more often than not

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i am never quite satisfied
and that scares me to no end
i will always have a second piece of chocolate cake
the search for my soul mate continues (forever?)


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listen to: don't you worry 'bout a thing, john legend

read: the sabbath, abraham joshua heschel

watch: the namesake


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today is my best friend's birthday
she is absolutely wonderful and i don't know what i would do if she didn't exist
my life would be less than it is today without her in it

happy birthday jenniferro!

happy birthday, brother

today, my brother turns 25

which is old
but i still love him


happy birthday, brother
i love you!