March 16 is my birthday!!! YAY! Four years after originally posting this post I still thank God for allowing me to see another year. He’s done so much for and within me over the last now 45 years and for that I’m eternally grateful.

As excited as I am today about “my day” tomorrow I understand with full clarity that who I am is because of Who I serve and Who He allowed to parent me. My parents, Sylvester and Angenetta Scott ROCK!!!!

Each year I get them a present for my birthday to thank them for doing whatever they had to do to connect, love each other, have me, love me, rear me, provide for me, whip me, guide me and most importantly stay together. This year my sweet husband purchased them a picture from the both of us of them at our wedding which now hangs on their wall. (Awwwww…aren’t they adorable?!?!) So, thankfully, I found this post as again and enhanced it as an offering of the gift of my words.

I want to publicly say THANK YOU to them for being the perfect parents to me (especially when I acted far, far, far less than perfect). A lot of people know me now and see the works of many to get me half-way together, but let me tell you, your girl Angela has come a long way, especially from teenagedom. I have to say THANK YOU to my father for working since the age of seven until retirement almost six decades later and not having his father in his life, but being stubbornly determined to be all that he didn’t have for his children and other people’s children. He is the most loving, sensitive and tenacious provider, protector, comedian, detailed question asker, streetwise/bookwise combo, financial expert and human encourager I know. Now, as he’s overcoming health challenges which caught us all by surprise in 2016, his strength, determination and care for his family shines even more brightly as a source of inspiration for me. I have to say THANK YOU to my mother for being the most selfless, caring, loving human I know, pressing through her own personal pains to provide joy to so many. She’s the best best friend, listener, problem solver, caregiver, chef, surprise planner, Santa Claus, prayer partner, sounding board, voice of reason, Godly example of wife/mother/grandmother, personal chef, good friend to her friends, project workerbee, organizer, birthday/holiday card sender, confidant, and intercessor I know. I simply adore, admire and respect them more than these 600 words could say.

At the time I first wrote this post four years ago I said…”Neither of them bother with “that Facebook”, and my mom rarely has time to read my blogs because they’re busy taking care of my beautiful nieces and enjoying dates after all these years, but somehow, someway I know these words will reach them and I hope they linger in their hearts forever.”

Now, my mom is on “that Facebook”, but barely as she balances life “the remix” since my dad’s illness. Those beautiful nieces are in school, and the dates they enjoy, mostly at Cracker Barrel or McDonalds as my dad continues to show last year’s sickness who’s the Boss, are truly a testament of their love for each other, which is a testament of their love for me and those who love them. So again, just in case they don’t see this for themselves, I know somehow, someway these words (and I pray my actions) will reach them and linger in their hearts forever.

-The proud daughter of Sylvester and Angenetta Scott