Happy Birthday Jenni

Jenni writes birthday letters here to her boys. She is too humble to write about herself in this space where she curates memories that future generations will treasure. In deference to her art, I will make an attempt to celebrate the one and only Jenni. 

Disclaimer: neither words nor photos can capture her essence - at least mine can’t.

Jenni harvests words like crops. She plants them in drafts or scribbles them on scrap paper.  She watches them germinate from seed. Thinning out the weak ones, she then replants and fertilizes the strong ones. These days the written word is being replaced by AI while Jenni does the work like a master that has trained 40 years in her craft. She sorts through the thousands of photos we share in iCloud to find the shots that best capture the story she wants to tell.  She has a document on her laptop that holds her blog ideas - I just looked,  it has 59,210 words. That is nearing Old Testament length. 

Many of those words have been posted here but most of them will never be published. It is a safe place to put her words - like a seed bank for the apocalypse of parenthood. The published stuff here is often what blooms the prettiest or bears the most fruit. Some of the words she saves for herself. Someday if you want the whole story find the blog ideas document in Jenni’s files and you will see the work behind the genius and creativity. Pack a lunch and a box of tissues though, it’s a deep cut… some of it Old Testament level.

Surfaces all over our house are covered in lists. Open a drawer and you'll probably find a list. If a person could major in lists in college… Jenni would be a tenured professor. She has a drawer in the kitchen that hides the madness but sometimes it spills onto the kitchen counter and dining room table. She makes lists of lists. You should’ve seen the lists that were made for our Portugal trip! That’s what it takes to keep us all organized, a herculean feat as we approach teenager schedules. I recently got to scratch something off a long term list that has been on my pile for almost 5 years! I was rewarded with a refreshed long term list. 

Lists are her love language. And books too… she cracked the code for getting boys to love to read (me included). When we pick up holds at the library the books are often handed over with a kind message from the librarian: “you are almost at the items out limit (which is 100 items lol).” They are reassured to hear that I put 20+ items in the return bin. Jenni commented on Tuck's stack of books but hers is just as impressive.

Jenni’s daily walks are her only true self indulgence (okay occasionally nachos too). She chews through the soles of shoes like the emotions of the day transfer directly into the pavement. She often immediately comes inside straight to her list pile to sprinkle some ideas on paper.  Amazingly she always returns from these walks restored just enough to get through the rest of the day to give a little more of herself to the rest of the world. It’s amazing what she puts up with from all of us - our stalks all bending to the light she radiates.

Jenni effortlessly cultivates her 4 boys. Some of what she absorbed growing up on the farm in West Virginia must’ve stuck. Those of us that know, understand how hard she works to make all of this happen and she does it with grace and patience.

Feeding

Watering

Pointing us toward the sun

New pots when the boys are root bound in their old shoes or clothes.

Occasionally gently tugging at weeds before they take root.

I thought we were a good match in 1994 when she sat on my lap on the 4th of July. The older we get the more I marvel at who I always knew she was but more amazingly who she has become. I am a much better person because of her. 

Happy birthday Jenni, forever my alto and partner on the stage of life!

💖 Andy 

In Portugal upon seeing this door Jenni loudly pronounced "look at those knockers!"