August 1, 2008 was mother’s 84th birthday. A few of us gathered around the kitchen table after a long yard sale day to have some birthday cake, sing happy birthday, and visit.

Mother is the longest lived of all her siblings, so far. Uncle Perry died at 79, Uncle John at 30, and Uncle Art at 38. Her kid sister Aunt Marj is still living and is 80 years old. Grandfather Gillett lived to be 86, but grandmother Gillette died at age 57. It could well be that mother will live longer than anyone else in her immediate family.