Birthday Half Birthday

Today is Dad's birthday...which also means that today is his mom's half birthday - 99 1/2 years! Not to steal Dad's thunder, but come on! The scary thing about today is that she is having surgery to fix a shattered leg, broken in three places. So today, instead of having a very merry unbirthday, we are facing the reality of celebrating 99 1/2 years, today that reality is very thick with the human condition.
So in celebrating Gram's half birthday it seems fitting to celebrate the birthday of her youngest son, my Dad. I took this picture of him this weekend. He came in from the garden where he had been rototilling and harvesting and getting the ground ready for the winter. He was covered in dirt and I was laughing because as he sat down to eat lunch he had mud smudged on his face, not that that bothered him much. As I am watching him help his mother finish her life here, it has become so important to me to remember the "normal" day-to-day moments that we share. Days when Dad comes in sweaty from the yard smeared with dirt. Those are the times that even though they seem a dime a dozen now can too easily pass unnoticed and slip away.
I hope this picture makes you smile. It makes me smile. Happy Birthday Dad! Happy Half Birthday Gram - what an awesome Dad you gave me!