Rant #2,099: Mama

Today is March 9, and I guess we are going to have to prepare ourselves for the imminent closure of all Toys 'R Us stores sometime in the near future.

The once iconic toy store chain just cannot cut it in a world where you can pick up your phone and order the same toys that you would normally have to trudge out to their cavernous stores for.

Yes, technology did them in.

I have to say that when my kids were young, Toys 'R Us was an oasis for us.

I used to take them to our local store, buy them a small toy--a figure of one of their favorite TV stars or a Matchbox car--and they were happy for hours.

I haven't been in a Toys 'R Us for awhile, but to Jeffrey, I say, "Thank You,"

How this segues me over to the next topic is beyond me, but I am going to do it anyway.

When I was a kid, I could have used a Toys 'R Us as a go-to place to get all the toys I had, and the person who would have gone to such a store to get those things that I wanted would have probably been my mother.

My mother turns 87 years young on Sunday, March 11, and let me tell you, I couldn't have chosen a better mother if I had been given the choice.

Forget about the toys ... she was always there when I needed her, when I was a baby all the way through to my nearly 61 years on this earth.

She is the matriarch of our family, now counting not just my father, my sister and myself but also our better halves and a total of five grandchildren, all of whom she dotes over and watches over like a loving, caring hawk.

As I have said many times, my mother has more energy than many people 60 years her junior. She is in constant motion, cannot sit still, and always finds something that she needs to do.

She prods my father to do things that he would not do without being pushed, and all told, that is what keeps her (and he) going.

There is always something else to do, so why not do it and then move on to the next thing?

Anyone that knows her realizes immediately that my mother is a special person, completely tuned in to her family in sort of an old fashioned way that she makes up to date with her zest and spring in her step.

And let me tell you, to this day, when she calls me "Lawrence," I shudder. When she calls me by my given name, I know that I am in a heap of trouble. Heck, I even typed my name wrong twice writing this part of my Rant just thinking about it.

So let me wish my mother the happiest of birthdays. We aren't necessarily doing anything that special for the big day--all she wanted as presents were gift cards to her favorite stores, so that is what she is getting from my family.

My mother is 87? I simply cannot believe it, but it is what it is.

We should all have the verve that she has if we are lucky enough to get to that point in our lives.

Happy birthday!

And you have a good weekend. I will speak to you again on Monday.