8 things

Ok, the picture above is more from Lisa's house...this is her family room....very very pretty. The weary vacationer on the couch belongs to me. Day 1 of our vacation...he was getting the right idea already.

While I was gone I saw that Heather tagged me for 8 Random Facts. Thank you, Heather. I find it challenging to come up with facts, don't you? But it's fun. Still, maybe I've cheated a little bit this time...I'm throwing in a lot about my family. Here I go.

1. My hometown is not small, but when I was growing up it was much smaller than it is today. My grandfather, my dad's father, ran a successful family business. It was named after him. Everyone in town knew it, and so everyone knew him.

2. My dad is the second of nine children, the oldest son. He was named after his father. My dad did not work for his father, he chose to do something completely unrelated. But he has also made a career out of working with a lot of different people in town.

3. So when I was growing up, people would hear my last name and say, wait - are you related to [grandfather] or [father]?

4. But it seemed just as often they'd say, wait - are you [mother]'s daughter?

5. And they'd say to me, I love your mother.

6. They'd say, she's the greatest lady! She's so funny.

7. Store clerks, house painters, electricians, hair dressers, receptionists, doctors, nurses, gas station attendants, hostesses & waiters, lifeguards at the pool, the local butcher, mailman, handyman, florist, and seamstress. Throughout my life I've heard these people tell me they love my mother. Many have told her outright that she is their favorite customer/patient/client. Probably because she makes a point of getting to know them, asking them about themselves, taking a sincere interest in their lives (the good as well as the bad) each time she sees them. And she makes them laugh with her own life stories. She has a strong effect on people; it's hard to describe in a way that doesn't make it seem like I'm exaggerating. But I'm not. I remember one time a woman in town had a party to honor special women around and she announced to everyone at the party that she loved my mother the most. Even as I was growing up my friends always liked her and would want to visit with her when they came over.

8. So even though her name wasn't on the sign, or the letterhead, by my account she was (and is) as well known as my dad and grandfather in my hometown. Just in a different way.