On this day in 1949...

My sweet momma, Nancy Elaine Morgan, was welcomed into the world by her parents, Ernest and Gladys, and her brother Terry. She was born in middle Tennessee and raised in Warren county. She had dear friends who love her to this day, she was a cheerleader and a member of the 4H club, she showed prize winning cattle and during the summers worked at an Easter Seals camp with physically and mentally handicapped teens. She had a laugh that was incredibly beautiful. I remember being little and wanting to hear her laugh, see her throw her head back so far that I could see the fillings in the back of her mouth. No matter the situation, she could always make me smile. Her motto was "always keep a smile on your face." She loved with all of her heart, made the smallest things seem like the biggest adventures, and served God to the best of her ability. She loved each of her four children and her husband with all of her being. Her life was cut short ~ only 40 years old when she lost her battle with cancer. We were all so young ~ Jay 18, Lynette 15, me 11, Jonathan 7, and Daddy 34.

I sometimes wonder what she would say to me and about me if she were still here. Or, if my life would be any different than it is now. Would my relationship with my parents be better? Would we all live within a block of each other and have Sunday dinner together? Would she be proud of the different lives all four of us lead? Would she be the kind of grandmother that couldn't stay away from her grandbabies? I bet she'd be the person who pulls an entire scrap book out to show pictures to everyone who's around. Would she call me everyday just to say "I love you"? Would she drive 100 miles just to help me bake something? Or pick out an outfit for an interview?

I don't know why Momma was taken away, it's in the file of questions to ask when I meet Jesus. I do know that the time I had with her was wonderful and full of so many precious memories... especially singing DollyParton, Judds, and K.T. Oslin songs in our old brown Oldsmobile. Or days when she'd been shopping for us and had our outfits laid out on or beds when we came home from school. You could always tell she was excited about the things she bought for us. Putting cashews in a Dr. Pepper, eating popcorn cuddled up on the couch under a warm blanket watching the ABC Sunday night movie, making the best chocolate oatmeal cookies on the face of the earth, cooking pancakes on a huge griddle on Saturday mornings w/ each of us having a special size... so many beautiful little moments that I am incredibly thankful to have.

Happy 55th birthday Momma. Good night, sweet dreams, I love you...