reason to believe: 90 And Fabulous

My mom turns 90 years old this month. NINETY. I remember so vividly when my Grandpa Ivan, her dad, turned 90. At the time I couldn't imagine my parents at that age. As it turned out, my dad never reached that milestone, but Mom--reach it she has, and with such vitality and presence. We've been celebrating all month long because turning 90 is a big deal. The party began with a big family weekend at Christmas Lake with all 35 loving family members present. We've had small brunches and lunches and suppers, and we'll have another big celebration at our traditional spot, Elway's, this weekend. I wanted to step back from all the fanfare for a bit, though, and just focus on the amazing life my mom, Leola Mae Thompson, has led.

There are so many things I love about Mom, one of them being her artistic talent as a quilter. Every one of us has at least one of her gorgeous creations, and in each block, each stitch, we feel her love caressing us. I think the best way to really understand her life is to look at it like one of her quilts, block by amazing block.

Block One--Daughter, Sister

Mom's quilt design began to form when she was born the first child of Ivan and Emily Jambor. Indeed, Grandma Emily was a quilter, sewing together scraps of colorful fabric for her little family. Mom and her little brother Larry grew up wrapped in the warmth of loving parents who valued hard work and education. Mom excelled in school and graduated as valedictorian of her class of 1944.

Block Two--Working Girl

The backing for Mom's quilt can be found in her solid upbringing. It influenced her greatly as she left home and began her college and working career. Grandma Emily was a teacher her entire working years, so it was natural that Mom followed her footsteps. She also worked in a downtown Lincoln office and loved the life of a single girl in a big city.

Block Three--Bride and Young Wife

The design of a quilt is a personal choice, and Mom chose love and family over career. She met my dad on a blind date and the quilt began to take shape. They married on July 26, 1951, and together they built a life together, block after block.

Bock Four--Young Mother

With strong, even stitches, Mom and Dad brought six children into the world. They moved from Lincoln to Alliance, and it was there that they made their home. Mom chose staying home and being with her kids over a career, and we all loved knowing she was always there waiting for us, whether coming home from school or practice or a game or even a date or movie.

Block Five--Growing Family

Sometimes more fabric is needed as the blocks begin to take shape. Mom and dad found their home beginning to empty out as kids graduated and went to college, yet the family grew as marriages brought new family members and love.

Block Six--Sorrow

Sometimes a quilt block doesn't quite fit in with the original plan, and adjustments have to be made in order to continue. Mom didn't plan her block of sorrow, but way too early in her life she became a widow. My dad's sudden and unexpected death in 1982 devastated all of us and shattered our lives. Mom tightened up her stitches and became the force that kept us together. The grieving process is long and hard and heart wrenching, and often the threads of her quilt frayed around this block, but she always put so much effort in fixing this part of her life.

Block Seven--Grandmother
"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." Emerson

Dad took a big part of Mom's heart with him to Heaven. It was important for her to try and regain some of the joy that was missing. Enter the grandkids--all nine of them! Mom loves being a grandma and a great grandma, and these beautiful faces are the blocks that add the most color to her quilt. She has always been there to make yummy treats or babysit for days at a time while busy moms and dads worked or to teach the fine points of crafting and sewing. Almost all of the grandkids owe their love of coffee to her. And every one of them has been comforted immensely in the loving lap of Grams.

Block Eight--Great Grandmother

Nine and soon to be ten angelic faces surround this quilt of love. Grams has held each one in her loving arms. They are the lucky ones--to have the opportunity to learn from and be loved by their great grandmother.

Block Nine--90 Fabulous Years!

Imagination, vision, hard work, patience, confidence, and love are all essential components of every quilt. For 90 years, my mom has lived her life with these qualities front and center. They have seen her through the Great Depression years that eventually resulted in her parents losing their farm. They were with her when she began her life with my dad during the Fifties--a time of change with televisions and hula hoops and Elvis! The Sixties brought her color TVs and mini skirts and The Beatles. She watched the Seventies roll in computers and microwave ovens and The Brady Bunch. Then the Eighties ushered in VCRs and CDs and Cabbage Patch dolls. Cell phones and the internet debuted in the Nineties. What a joy and honor it was to ring in a new century with my mom as we counted down the seconds on 12.31.1999 and toasted with champagne at 12 a.m. on 1.1.2000. Witnessing all this change only adds to the strength and beauty of this life.

On this eve of your 90th birthday, Mom, I want you to know how grateful I am that you're my mother. The design of your life quilt is reflected so much in my own, from your love of books and newspapers and travel (but not your coffee obsession😄 ) to your nurturing love for your children and grandchildren, my favorite passions emerged--teaching English and being an aunt. I can't imagine life without you as my mother and friend.

Happy, happy 90th birthday, Mom--I love you so much!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. For your love, for your devotion, and for your life quilt that keeps us all warm and safe and forever loved.