During the past couple of weeks, there have been significant celebrations in the Hiller household. To begin the month, we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday, which I can't be more proud to have such a beautiful and loving Ma. A few days preceding her birthday, I was weeding the garden and came across some mating (or trying to) beetles and immediately thought of her (if you know Mom, you know what I'm talking about). Herein lies my inspiration for her gift (frameable prints):
That's not how it works, silly bugs. Or...never mind. ;)
I took Mom shopping and to lunch for her birthday. It was a wonderful day, and I think she actually said the mother of all curse words 4 times (due to my inability to talk and drive at the same time). It was a blast of a day!
The next celebration was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary:
In my 32 years of existence, I have learned many things from my parents. Growing up in our household, friends would comment how our house was like the
Leave it to Beaver house. I would like to think that it was entirely more exciting than that, but the dynamic of our family was founded by my parents and their respect for one another. As kids, we never saw them fight, yell at each other, or call each other names. We would find them sneaking kisses every chance they could (can I get an "ewww, gross!"), always poking fun at each other, and just plain loving each other. These two made it look so easy. They tell me now that they have had everyone fooled (hahaha!). But they assured me that they did have their arguments (in a respectful way, not around us kids). And out of everyone in the world, they would rather be around each other.
To the dad that always wrestled with me, was patient with me, could reason with me about anything, let me do his hair in pretty ponies, gave me sips of beer, shared his popcorn and potato chips, gave me strong, solid advice on life and other things, taught me balance, and who has always been there for me through my ups and downs. You taught me how to be responsible, loyal, trustworthy, and honest. I always knew that I was safe when you were around. You kept me safe.
To the mom that all other moms envied and all of the other kids wanted. You used your creativity and inner child to make the most of every situation. Between food fights in the dining room, to letting me eat my mashed potatoes like Randy off of the Christmas Story, to the cake batter fights with me and Lindsey in the kitchen, and many more experiences that only the coolest of moms would let happen, you are definitely it. The coolest. The best. If we struggled financially, us kids thought we had it all. You taught me how to have fun with my children, how to never grow up (in a sense), how to not care about what others may think, how to do things that just make you happy, how to be selfless, how to be a fruitloop in a world full of cheerios, and most importantly how to dream big.
As a married couple, you both taught me what it is to fight for what you want, never give up, keep working (because marriage is work), actions speak louder than words, communication is key, don't let it fester, laugh, laugh at each other, laugh at yourself, hug, kiss, wrestle, be faithful, be partners, be teammates, work together rather than against one another. It's you guys against the world, and you are doing a pretty amazing job at it. I think I speak for Heidi and Adam on this when I say that you are two of the most special and unique people (the best of both worlds, so to speak), and you made our childhoods nothing less than spectacular. I love you to the moon and back.
Cheers to 40 years and many more!
