It has occurred to me recently that we rarely see our parents as the people they are. We don't see life from their perspective. We are learning to find our own way and don't really know what life adventures our parents had that led them to being our parents.

Even as they live their lives as parents we don't comprehend all that is going on simultaneously in their world. It has become clear to me in the last few years that my parents were even more amazing individuals than I realized.

They took risks and chances and each had very interesting lives before they united in marriage. The thirties and forties and fifties world situation, economics and technology provided a back drop and environment that made growing up then a unique circumstance, much different than mine. Surviving a World War, an economic depression and a world going through "growing pains",wow,they did awesome.

Just as I grew up in a world much different than my parents, I realize that my sons are growing in a world different than mine and my grandchildren's world is even more different. The values today are distinctly different. Hope, Noah, Jake and Jonah will never have know a time when there were no computers, phones aren't connected to walls and the choice of what and when to listen and view messages and TV are theirs.

It is exciting the way it works. I wish my Mom a Happy Birthday today. I hope that heaven is celebrating her life as I am celebrating hers and my dad's life today.

Happy "unbirthday" everyone. Light a candle, make a wish and blow it out and then enjoy a piece of cake. Yummy.