Proof of the prettiest smile ever.
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This is a Marshall University sorority photo of my mother, Jane Costanzo, at the age of 19 in 1964.
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My mother has had many accomplishments across her lifetime that I can recall. As a child, for example, being the diligent Girl Scout that she was, she practiced fire-making, which accidentally led to the incineration of her neighbor’s swing set. Sensibly, she packed a small suitcase, left home and sat under a tree until my grandmother found her.
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In 8th grade, she became a Lady of the Golden Horseshoe Society through her incredible knowledge of West Virginia history. Academically, she always thrived and was the first in her family to go to college. There, she studied education and was president of her sorority.
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Besides academics, mom loved singing and music. My grandfather, a prodigious whistler, longed for her to be able to sit at the piano and improvise. While she failed on that wish, she did learn to harmonize to anything, a trait she passed on to my sister and me.
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When I was a child, I found a record she had produced with the Tridettes, a singing group in her high school. Clearly, mom was famous. To this day, she sings in the church choir, and she hums. All day long.
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Mom put aside her career when she had my sister and me, but when her marriage to my father began to dissolve, she went back to school and studied accounting, eventually becoming a CPA for thirty+ years.
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Even though my mom was referred to as “telegraph, telephone, teleJane,” and still remains chatty, my mom was not one to ever speak badly of people and not one to use her voice to start conflict. So, while hesitant to speak out, my mother will be the first to SHOW you her faith (and sing about it) and demonstrate her love through her actions.
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Many of the wonderful qualities that my mom contains were passed to my daughter. I am eternally grateful.

Happy Birthday Mom!
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~shared by @rebecca_kiger