09/25/2026
I’d like to take a moment to celebrate my mother, Elaine Robbins on her 98th birthday! The first photo is of her and her Shirley Temple doll, my grandmother made a new dress for her for each new movie, she still has the doll and all the dresses, the next photo was during “fire prevention week” my mother had kindergarten in the house for decades and I remember Smokey Bear coming to talk to us about fire safety. Every night she’d read a story before bedtime, while she graduated with a degree in nuclear physics from Tufts (class of 1950, where she was scolded by her professors for “taking a place of a man” she was first and foremost a teacher. Teaching preschool and kindergarten at her kitchen table for decades then onto the Migrant program in public schools, to running the library and teaching in the Knox County Jail, she retired at 85 but kept teaching those who needed help, especially in math, she wrote her own Algebra textbooks. My father left when I was in 5th grade and my siblings had grown up and had their own lives so it was the two of us, she supported me in everything I did, even sat through so horrible concerts and one act plays, I played Sax and did lighting/sets. We watched every single MGM musical and saved enough to go to what’s now MSMT, Lakewood and Camden Shakespeare Festival. We both volunteered at the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, she thought it was important for me to be around grown men, she was right, it had a profound impact on my life. We did lots of things together and she was, and still is my biggest fan. When I bought the Bohemian, some of the equipment was in desperate need of replacement, she told me, since I never attended college (I’m dyslexic and knew I’d fail) she would give me the money she have scrimped and saved for school.
She spent many nights tutoring to pay the bills and keep the lights on. Now retired she still helps her grandchildren with their math homework and was a wonderful “Nana” to my pup, Baloo, they were inseparable!
I am truly blessed to have her in my life, we visit and tell stories almost every night before I head off to crash for a few hours before heading back to work.
Love you Mom and happy 98th birthday!
