Celebrating someone's birthday is celebrating life itself - not only the fact that they were born, but all the wonderful times shared together.
Depending how old someone is, the celebration takes on a different meaning. My oldest sister, now my last sibling, is turning 90 at the end of September. She's healthy, has a bright mind and still a delight, so having a celebration was a "no brainer" as the saying goes.
Her children jumped right into action, planning, making all the necessary reservations, contacting caterers, musicians, printing invitations (save the date and the invitations), making various decorations, ordering her a special dress, etc. They made the date a little earlier than her actual birthday for relatives coming in from out of town, so the weather would be better for travel.
She has a large family, with 4 children, all with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their own. Additionally, we have nieces and nephews and their children as well. Add friends to all that, and you have a party large enough to fill a barn...which she did!!
We decided to come three weeks early and spend some time with her and the family prior to the "big event". I knew it would be chaotic the days before, so wanted to spend some quality time with her alone before that, which we were able to do. They were just quiet days of playing cards and sharing stories, going out to lunch and cooking together. Sister stuff.
She wanted to host a "Thank you brunch" for all the out of town guests the day before the big party so that she could spend more time visiting with each of them, knowing she wouldn't get a lot of time at the actual party. As usual, she had been pre-cooking and baking for days to put on her usual spread! It's what makes her happy.
That Saturday, all the nieces and nephews, along with myself and Jack came over to a wonderful spread of 3 kinds of quiches, 4 kinds of sweet breads, a large ham, brats, 2 fruit bowls, along with a variety of drinks! Each of us got a "thank you present" of 3 handmade crochet covered hangers. That's my sister!
The next day was The Big Celebration! You would never know that lady was 90! She was all smiles and ready to party! The place was FULL, she was beaming, people were happy, food was great, music was playing, place looked wonderful and the drinks were flowing. We even got her up to dance! I made a short speech, tried not to cry...don't remember much of it,..forgot a lot of what I wanted to say, but I'm sure it didn't matter. She knows I love her. To say the party was a success, would be an understatement...
When I reflect about this, I think about all birthdays...and how all of us should celebrate every one of them! So much better to celebrate life, than to talk about it afterwards at a funeral...
...on the road again, Marie
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