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Mom turned 65 this week, and a bunch of us Bannans (including Dad and granddaughter Christina) celebrated with her Friday at Dave’s BBQ in Vista, CA. (She and Dad celebrated her actual birthday at Chili’s. She’s an easygoing girl!) 

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65. Think of what she remembers: Sputnik putting the world on notice. The day JKF was killed. The days her four children were born. The day her husband went to Vietnam. The day he came back. And went back. And came back again.

She remembers growing up in Indianola, Mississippi and hopping the fence at BB King’s place. Not being allowed to play cards because her Uncle Nathan said they were the Devil’s tools. She worked a telephone switchboard (the kind with plugs and wires) when she met my Dad. Now she’s using a cell phone, but not while she’s driving.

She remembers being a Marine Corps Officer’s Wife, moving around the country growing a family along the way: Hawaii (Mike), California (Heather), South Carolina (Sean, Shannon), Washington, Virginia, Mississippi, North Carolina, California. She remembers the days each of her granddaughters were born. 

She doesn’t have to remember how to be a loving mother and a spoiling grandmother—those things are deep in her heart. And we love her for it.