Aha!

Remember how I told you last week about my mom's habit of propping us children up in front of our birthday cakes and taking a picture of us each year? And how our photo albums are full of pictures like this?And this?I always figured it was just a little tick in her personality or a slight quirk in her behavior. After all, she has always been prone to make up songs and dances and belt out Blueberry Hill on a whim. Once she even told my best friend she wanted to ride an ostrich, which is not something you want your mother to admit when you're thirteen.

In the last 24 hours I have discovered that the cake photo thing wasn't an acquired quirk at all. It was inherited from someone else in her family. I know this because I found THIS while trolling through an old photo album.Ha! There's mama in the middle surrounded by her younger siblings. There's Aunt B. on the left, Uncle D. on the right and down in front with her birthday cake, little Aunt A. This is probably in the early 50's when Baby Ruth was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and from the looks on their faces it's obvious that someone MADE them pose for this photo. This is a habit that obviously goes way back. Wait 'til I see her again and show her this. And while I'm at it I'm going to tell her what she told me at about that age, "Aren't those shorts a little short, young lady?"