For 62 years, Lola Gillebaard and Hendrik Cornelis Gillebaard Sr have loved and laughed and fought and cried through all her illnesses, the birth of four HUGE boys, the death of a daughter-law, the death of far too many businesses, and the sale of their beloved home. 

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My little sister and I still talk about the time in our grandparents’ house when we were convinced we heard reindeer on the roof. Surely it must have been Santa to deliver the overstuffed teddy bear and the doll with pink hair.  

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What do these people have in common: Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Stewart, Cyrus Vance, Ronald Reagan, Charles Bronson, and author Irish Murdoch? 

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At age almost 96 and on hospice, mom moves up and down like a roller coaster.  We call her YoYoMa, one of our ways of staying sane when our hearts are so heavy. Yesterday morning, she would not open her eyes or acknowledge I was there. But in the afternoon, when I returned to see her before heading out of town, her little blue eyes were bright and she said, “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat. I’ll buy!” “Wow, Mom. OK, what would you like?” “Food. To get out of here.” “Ok. Mom. I am on it.” I asked our care manager to get the print menu from the assisted living dining room. 

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