Next Thursday, March 12th, my mom turns 60:-) In 2007 and 2008, you guys helped me surprise her with cards and letters from all over the U.S. & the world wishing her a happy birthday.
This is a letter she wrote to you and me after she was surprised the first year:
"March 12, 2007 was my birthday. It was the most significant birthday of my life. The reason was the many cards, postcards, notes, and letters I received from, at last count, 50 strangers. Each and everyone of those once strangers, now friends, told me in some way how my daughter, Arlan, had enriched their lives. And each one in their own way gave me the credit. How much more can one expect to achieve in life. Each piece of mail touched my heart. I am asking Arlan to send out a general thank you to all of OUR friends."
This year, I'd love your help again. In the past you've sent her everything from postcards from all over the U.S. and around the world (she loves those!!), to 10-page heartfelt letters (wow) to drawings your children have made for her...to handmade items that you've made specially for her bday.
If you would like to send something*, please send to:
Mrs. Earline Sims
PO Box 27413
Houston, TX 77227
USA
Start sending today through next week...don't worry about being a couple of days early or a few days late because this is a big year for her, so getting bday wishes throughout the month will be awesome for her!
*My mom has a sense of humor, but please don't send any sexually-themed cards. I know that seems like a no-brainer, but uh *ahem*...in the past, it hasnt been. Haha...
____________
I posted about my "coming out" story a few months ago...this is just one of the 1000s of reasons I love my mom so much:
"I had quite possibly the easiest/coolest coming out to a mother in recorded history. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. I'll let you be the judge...
I was 16 and had recently come to terms with my sexuality. I had a girlfriend who lived in Germany--yes, my fascination with the internationals has been going strong for years now...it ain't a phase. My girlfriend and I were online chatting with each other, when my mom walked into my room. I quickly covered the screen because I didn't want her seeing what we were typing, even though I'm sure it was quite an innocent conversation. This is how the conversation with my mom went:
Mama: You don't have to hide the screen. I know everything about you that there is to know.
Me: Ha...yeah right. You don't know that I'm pregnant! (cause my mom and I have always had a very friendly relationship where we were comfortable joking like that.)
Mama: What I know about you, you won't be getting pregnant any time soon.
Me: *silent and stunned*
Mama: *looking at my walls like she's searching for something*
Me: What are you looking for?
Mama: An Ellen Degeneres poster.
Me: *silent and stunned*
Mama: *exeunt stage right*
My mom has since watched me go through 3 major relationships with women, and she adores each of these chicks almost as much as I did/do, as if they're her own daughters. She frequently calls me to tell me about something *gay* that she thinks you guys would like to know about. When she went to Chicago for the first time in May and saw the play "The Color Purple," she called me immediately after it was over to tell me about all of the lesbian under (and over) tones. She was saying all of this in front of a woman who has been her best friend for the past 40 years, and I could just hear her pride coming through the phone.
She's also said on more than one occasion that she'd go gay for Oprah and Martha Stewart. Can't beat that with a stick. My mama's just cool, y'all."
-arlan
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