The Birthday Card

Birthdays are meant to be remembered, but that is not the approach my husband takes. He would prefer that it be forgotten. He says it was never celebrated in his home when he was growing up. But I don't believe him. He did have a birthday this past week. We went out to dinner with a friend of ours. He received an Ecard from other friends, and a phone call. But this year was the first time his adopted "sister" did not send him a card. I didn't mention it to him, but I know he had to have thought about it. Yesterday when the mail arrived, he stepped in to the room with a cheery smile holding not one, but two envelopes that were addressed to him. One of them was from his "adopted" sister, and the other from the nurse who worked with him in his office when he was a practicing surgeon. We saw them both when we visited in Milwaukee last summer. Both of them mean a lot to him. Both of them remind us of how kind and gentle the folks are in Milwaukee - particularly the people we worked with in our thirty plus year health care careers. And no matter what he really thinks, I know he was very happy to be reminded - even it was a day late, and was for his birthday. So as usual, I put them on the fancy towel rack we use as a display area along with the thank you card we recently received from France. So whenever we look that way we are reminded of these nice folks. I know that's something he does like to remember.