Lauren, JoAnne, Jill, Jennifer, Gail, Julie, Jackie, Jessica & Julia - Mother’s Day 2011. My girl, our girls, and their girls!I received a lot of e-mails over the past week asking how the Annual Purtan Family Mother’s Day Celebration went. In a word, it was great! (Not as great as I’m sure our annual Father’s Day get together will be, but I digress)…
Gail and I, all six daughters, their husbands and our seven grandkids all went to my oldest daughter Jennifer’s house for the festivities. It was a day of food, fun and… some really “girly” gifts.
Having raised six daughters… (all of whom are mine - or so I’ve been led to believe)… you would think I’d be used to this sort of thing. But the difference between men and women really hit home when Gail unwrapped a grouping of miniature ceramic milk bottles from one of the girls. “Oooooooooh!” they all cooed, leaning in to get a closer look. “I love it!” said Gail. “What IS it?” said I. They all looked at me like I was crazy. “It’s a vase”, Jessica (#5) said slowly, like she was talking to someone who doesn’t speak English. “Each bottle can hold a single flower!” “Great”, I said.
Jill, Jennifer & JoAnne soaking up a moment of Mother’s Day Sunshine!There were plenty more gifts of course… picture frames, pastel colored blouses. At least I knew what those were!
Charlie, Jackie’s 9 year old son, gave her a book of poetry that he had written in school. Now if you know Jackie, you know that she was crying before she even started reading. But one of the poems contained a line that had her (and the rest of us) trying desperately not to laugh. What follows is that poem. I think you’ll recognize the line that I’m talking about:
The Important Thing
The important thing about mom is that she loves me.
She is pretty sometimes.
She is smart with math.
She makes good food and buys good food.
And she is artistic and blessed.
But the most important thing about my mom is that she loves me.
Love, Charlie
A Pear Tree in full bloom… Just like Charlie’s Mom, sometimes they’re pretty!Yup. Nothing like being told by your kid that you are “pretty” SOMETIMES to really make your heart swell!
By the way, you’ll be happy to know that “Jack” (Jessica’s 7 year old) has suffered no permanent damage from “The Incident” that happened in Florida about a month ago. If you missed that blog, check out “Boys Will Be Boys”. Trust me, it’s worth the read!
Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you back here Monday!
-Dick
P.S. More pictures below! Not shown: Jill’s son Matthew. He’s 16 and, new license in hand, was busy test-driving his Uncle Eric’s car!
Jack & Charlie on either side of their “Uncle Dick”
Gail and our Six Girls
Preston, Jack, Adam, Charlie & an unidentified Pokemon!
Julia & Lauren (Jill & JoAnne’s daughters respectively) with Jen’s dog “Luc” - or it might be “Lola”… I’d need a closer look downunder!