Marlene has devoted her whole life to being the kind of mother every child deserves, and she has succeeded. This morning when we called to wish her a happy birthday, Marlene's plans for the day included making a pan of brownies for her fellow missionaries to enjoy at Conference and making a pot of soup for her grandson Cade's birthday party tonight. It would never occur to Marlene to be anything but happy to be spending her day in service and celebration of other people. I admire the way Marlene has taken on motherhood as an identity rather than a temporary job. It's rare these days to find that unselfish attitude; the complete surrender to the task of raising a family, the regret-less abandonment of selfish desires in favor of her children. Because of these sacrifices, not in spite of them, Marlene is a beautiful, well-rounded, spiritual, intelligent, wise, compassionate and delightful person. And she's developed all of that without the concept of "Me Time."
How fortunate we all are to have her footsteps to follow. We love you!
3 comments:
Happy Birthday Marlene!..With all good wishes for many more!..Xo Patricia
Love the pictures! I can't believe how much our family has changed since then. We are pretty lucky to have such a great Mom!
This is such a beautiful tribute to Marlene. I was skimming all your darling pictures and saw these of the woman who was my leader (activity days, I think) and someone I always knew I would try to emulate. You and Scott are making her proud with your own devotion to your family.
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