On November 14, 2007, Carole’s Mom, Blanche Shaw, turned ninety years old. That’s quite an accomplishment. Carole decided that we would surprise Blanche at her birthday party. There was quite a bit of discussion about how much you want to surprise a ninety-year-old woman, but Carole was determined.
So, dealing with her brother, Will, it was decided that there would be a dinner party for Blanche on Saturday, November 17. We had told Blanche that we couldn’t make it. We lived over 800 miles away. Then, we would walk in just when everyone was seating themselves at Andrea’s Steakhouse in O’Fallon, Illinois.
We left Springfield on Thursday so that we could spend a night with our children (Paul, Sandy, Josh and Jack) in Roanoke. Then, we spent Friday night with Del and Jane O’Roark in Louisville. They are close friends from our military days. I worked for Del many years ago. By leaving late in the morning, it would put us in O’Fallon right about 4:30 PM.
The biggest problem with this plan was that Carole calls her mother every day and she had to come up with some wild explanations as to why she was always calling on her cell phone. I told Carole that I didn’t think we could pull it off. But, we did!
Will called us on his cell phone to let us know everyone was sitting down. We walked in and Carole touched her Mom’s shoulder from behind. I got ready to call 911. But it all came out perfect. After some delightful tears, we all sat down and celebrated Blanche’s birthday.
The poem, below, is to commemorate the occasion.
Blanche
We’re here to celebrate and that’s what we’ll do,
We’ll shout Happy Birthday to Blanche-Poo.
Ninety years young, with a smile and a knack,
For handling about everything, she’s sharp as a tack.
Grew up in the Depression, a truly smart child,
Living through some hard times, it really could get wild.
She was an excellent student, her grades were always tops,
We’re talking about the only child of Mam-ma and Pops.
She spent most of her life in Illinois,
Where she had a girl and a boy, and another boy.
She had beautiful children, mercy me,
But apples don’t fall far from the tree.
Of grandchildren, she has more than a few,
There’s Becky, Missy, Paul, Kelly, David and Drew.
Great grandchildren yes, there really is a pack,
With Grant, Brandon, Tyler, Kristin, Josh and Jack.
Six just doesn’t seem right, I’m sure there must be seven,
That’s right, there is Miss Charlotte, who just arrived from Heaven.
She lived in East Side and Belleville and down on the Lake,
Now she’s back in O’Fallon for goodness sake.
Playing poker with the girls, she comes out OK,
President of the Association, she’s had her say.
Now, she’s hooked to some tubes, makes her want to scratch,
But whatever you do, please don’t light a match.
Ninety years and counting, through the smiles and tears,
The time just simply flew by, all those special years.
But we’re all here to tell you, what you mean to us,
And whether you like it or not, we’re going to make a fuss.
We love you
This was truly Awesome Dad.
hi…just read some of your stuff with will’s help…will do more later..your poem is the greatest yet. gave it to some of my poker buddies to read yesterday and they all thought it was fabulous. will do more later after i practice…love mom
You see. All you have to do is write a poem about your mother-in-law and she will love you and write nice things about you. She will even show the poem to her poker budies (while she is taking their money). I think I mentioned poker in her poem. PJ Rice