Courtney

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mom!!! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and know just how much we all love you. Remember the college quilt you made for me when I went to USC? You made it perfectly and one reason why I love it so much is that it reminds me of you. You are detail-oriented (which was really good for us kids growing up and you planning our trips instead of Dad...) because the quilt was alternately red and yellow, the same colors of the university I was attending. You also made *each square* a different pattern, and with 150 squares that's a lot of creativity and hard work! Further, you even added some green every now and then because my sorority's colors were red and green. Your attention to detail is just one of the ways in which you show your love and it has always meant a lot to me. You even hand-stitched Tommy Trojan!! Now that takes some intense talent.

You have never been one to mass-produce anything or just take the easy way. You could have done the same pattern, or even 10 patterns just interspersed, but no, you took the time to make each of the 150 squares different. That is a quality you have that makes people feel special Mom, and you've always done that. You make each person feel like they have meaning and value and that is a trait sadly missing from our culture nowadays. That specific trait is one of the things I learned from you Mom, to love people and take the time to do something special for them, even if it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time, like the quilts you made us, because it is worth it.

And you never ask for anything in return either, you didn't spend countless hours making us quilts, clothes, stockings, etc. in return for extra time with you or another phone call a week if we were at college. You made us these things for our own benefit and nothing else. That is selfless love Mom, and again, something that many people today don't care to ever express because it's felt that love should always be a two-way street. Well, a lot of times it isn't, and that never stopped you from giving us your all, all the time. I have always felt extremely loved by you and never questioned your love for me. Thank you for that beautiful gift.

One last thing. In my college quilt, on the back it is an all-red background with yellow block letters that spell out "USC." Another wonderful quality you have Mom is the ability to surprise and delight people. I thought the front of the quilt was amazing enough, yet you went the extra mile and spelled "USC" on the back and I remember pure delight at seeing that extra stroke of detail! I have that quilt at my apartment now and whenever I show it to people I always show them both sides because they're both worthy of note! The way you make things and treat others expresses not only love but a desire to go the extra mile to show that you care for them.

It is for these reasons and many others that I love you infiniti x infiniti and I am so happy to spend this birthday with you!!

lots of loveos,
courtney