Yesterday (April 21) may have been the birthday of Queen Elizabeth, but the Queen of our clan is just one year and one day behind her!
In celebration of her nearing the end of her ninth decade, here are 9 things you may or may not know about her:
- She loves road trips. She’s been on road trips across Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Europe, and of course North America. Since I moved back to the States 4 years ago my sister and I have driven her to Alaska, Washington, and Newfoundland, plus many places in between.
- She plays the piano at her church.
- She volunteers at local senior care centers, playing the piano. They love it when she breaks out the old WW2 tunes!
- She leads a senior’s Bible study at a local community center, which means she spends a lot of her time studying.
- She is the subject of a short biographical film that is being produced by a local university student.
- She loves loves loves Minnesota. When lots of her friends head to Florida or Arizona for the winter, she stays in town to tough out winter!
- She drives a bright blue Camry (that she went out and bought for herself last year). When I tell my Chinese friends that she still drives, they nearly collapse in disbelief!
- She has a thing about driving large vehicles. One year she got to drive a zamboni; another year a giant John Deere tractor. Her ultimate dream is to drive a snow plow at the Minneapolis airport!
- She celebrated her 80th and 85th birthdays in China. She has also made it known that she wants to be there next April to celebrate her 90th. Who’s in?
The rest of you can celebrate Earth Day; around here we are going to celebrate Gracie’s birthday.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
P.S. She claims that the secret to her longevity is that she does not like vegetables!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE! Enjoy all the ice cream and cake you can get and eat just a little more for Hu and me.
We are definitely in!
Happy Birthday to a very special lady. May God continue to richly bless you in very loving ways. Love, Virginia
Please greet your mother for us. Haven’t seen her in a few years now but she would be very welcome here in Storden/Westbrook. Belated happy birthday to a wonderful lady.
DEAR GRACE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! HOWIE FORWARDED THE INFO ABOUT YOU. KEEP IT UP. YOU ARE AMAZING. (NOT THE HYMN) I TOO WILL BE SEEING THE “90” BRAND COME JULY. SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY, YOU JOHNNY BARBAR, MARILYN ME AND WHAT WAS HER NAME ? WENT BIKING AT GOLDEN GATE PARK AND EATING “LABSCOUS”? MADE BY YOUR MOM. WHAT A SWEET LADY. GOOD TO HEAR YOU’RE DOING WELL AND HAVING FUN. THE LORD CONTINUE TO SHINE UPON YOU. PRAY FOR MY WIFE JEAN. SHE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH EARLY SIGNS OF ALZHEIMERS. WE ARE IN HIS HANDS. RALPH DE LA VEGA