Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Happy Birthday, Mum!

In Australia today my Mum celebrates her 80th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mum!


Right: With Mum in Port Macquarie, Australia – July 13, 2017.


I've said it many times before but it's definitely worth repeating: My brothers and I are very fortunate to have Margaret Anne Bayly (née Sparkes) as our mother. She is a beautiful, wise and strong woman who extends care, kindness, and love to everyone she encounters.

I love you, Mum, and can’t thank you enough for who you are and for all you continue to be and give to me, my brothers, our family, and so many others whose lives are fortunate enough to be touched by yours!



Above: The Bayly family – Sunday, August 6, 2017. This photo was taken at the 80th birthday party for my Dad that I organized when I was last back in Australia, July-August of 2017. For more images of this very special celebration, click here.


In celebrating Mum's's birthday at The Wild Reed in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 I shared quite a number of photos from the Bayly family archives. In fact, it was a bit of a chore to find new ones for this post! But rest assured, I found a few. Enjoy!



Above: Mum (center) with her friends Elaine (left) and Fay in the late-1950s.



Above: Mum and Dad on their wedding day in Gunnedah, November 7, 1959.



Above: The Bayly family, photographed in the mid-1970s. From left: Me, Dad, Mum, my younger brother Tim, and my older brother Chris.

From the decorations in the background I can tell that this photo was taken around Christmas. What year exactly, I can't say. I do know it was taken at the home of my Mum's younger sister Ruth, her husband Rex, and their two children – my cousins Emily and Greg. At that time they lived on a small farm just outside of Gunnedah.



Above: Mum on Christmas Day, 1984.



Above: Mum with (from left) her mother-in-law, Belle Smith (1919-2005), and her mother, Olive Sparkes (1906-1997). This photo was taken at the wedding of my younger brother Tim and his wife Ros in 1990.



Above: Mum and I with my paternal grandparents, Bill and Belle Smith – Christmas Day, 1991.



Above: Mum, Dad, and I with Mum's older sister, Fay, and my niece, Layne – December 30, 2009.



Above: With Mum and Dad and their Port Macquarie friends Bob and Daphne – Friday, August 18, 2017.



Above: A lovely shot of Dad and Mum in Port Macquarie – August 10, 2017.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Thanks, Mum!
Happy Birthday, Mum (2017)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2015)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2014)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2013)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2011)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2010)
Happy Birthday, Mum (2009)
Congratulations, Mum and Dad!
Catholic Rainbow (Australian) Parents


15 comments:

Angela McCormack said...

Happy birthday, Mrs Bayly!

Moya Bayly said...

A very Happy Birthday, Margaret. I hope both you and Gordon are well. Love, Moya xxx

David Hay Gibson said...

Congratulations to you all on your Mum’s 80th birthday! May she be blessed with love and good health in the coming years!

Catherine Conroy said...

Very happy birthday, Mrs Bayly!

Louise Jaeger said...

Happy Birthday, Mrs Bayly! Hope you had a lovely day.

Angie Power Cline said...

Happy Birthday to Mrs Bayly. . . . I wish you much joy and much love to surround you on this day celebrating your birth! I just want you to know what a fine, caring man you raised. He is a close friend of my family and we are so honored to call him such. . . . God bless you, today and always.

Simeon Mokaya Momanyi said...

Happy birthday to your mum, my friend.

Maria Melville said...

Happy Birthday, Mrs Bayly! Enjoy your special day. xx

Julie Donaldson said...

Happy 80th birthday, Mrs Bayly! Have a lovely day.

Ruth Brooker said...

Happy Birthday. Michael's Mum! You have an awesome son.

Don Cailliez said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! . . . A great photo of you two together!

Joy Ducrow Almog said...

Happy birthday! 🎂

Di Fergo said...

Happy Birthday, Mrs Bayly! xo

Amanda Boubouras said...

Hope your mum has a beautiful birthday, Michael. ❤️

Carol Masters said...

Happy days, Michael’s mum!