November 14, 2025. In Praise of Mia, Tamara and Lina! November 14, 2025. In Praise of Mia, Tamara and Lina! Today marks the birthday of my daughter-in-law, Mia, who turns 36 today. My youngest son, Jake, using all the blarney of his Welsh-Dutch-Jewish ancestors, managed to get Mia to marry him. I know because I had the distinct privilege and honor to officiate at their wedding. Jake is a very lucky man because Mia is a beautiful woman who happens to be a loving partner to him. So on her birthday, I want to give special prayers of thanks for and praise of Mia and express my love and gratitude for having her in my family. However, my good fortune does not stop there. Besides the good luck that both Jake and I received with his marriage to Mia, I have the almost unbelievable accumulation of riches in the form of two other daughters-in-law, Tamara and Lina . They are the wives of my sons, Ben and Charlie, respectively. Not only that, but they are every bit as wonderful as Mia is with similar superlative qualities. Of course each one of them is very different with the assembly of good qualities slightly unique for each of them. I love each one of my sons very much, and I consider them the greatest joys that have come to me in this life. The fact that they are married to such wonderful women is a huge blessing. I had my first child when I was only 31. The marriage that produced my son, Brooks, did not last long. Nevertheless the gift of Brooks definitely offset the disappointment from that failed marriage. It took 10 years before my next son, Charlie, was born, followed by Ben and Jake. I didn’t really think that I would have any children after Brooks; so, the birth of the next three turned out to be a huge gift and bonus. Now, as the years have passed, those gifts have expanded with these three wonderful daughters-in-law and grandchildren. So, I sing the praises of Mia, Tamara and Lina on this birthday occasion. I am a very lucky and blessed man. Happy birthday, Mia.