Happy Birthday Balloons

I can’t remember the last time we blew up balloons. So when our neighbor asked us to come over to celebrate her husband’s 88th birthday we agreed. She mentioned she needed to get some balloons. Then I remembered we had a package of balloons that we got for a medical reason - believe it or not. Only one was used, so there were plenty left over. I told her we would be happy to bring some with us to help with the celebration. So this morning my husband and I made sure we picked out every color and started to blow the balloons up. Whew! But it was even more difficult to tie each one - I even broke a fingernail. I wish I had watched a video on how best to tie the bunch of balloons together. We were having quite a time getting them all hooked together using a long piece of string. Apparently you should make bunches of two or three and then twist them all together. If I had to do it again I would tie a string to each one and then pull all of the strings together. We were glad we could help celebrate someone having an 88th birthday. That - and blowing up and tying the balloons together - is quite an accomplishment! 

Happy Twentieth Birthday Grandson

It is a couple of days late, but I wanted to remember our grandson’s twentieth birthday. His first home was on Capitol Hill in a beautiful townhouse. You could say that he changed the trajectory of our lives. It was because of him and his family that we decided to move to Capitol Hill when he was three years old. His father - an army heart surgeon - would be deployed three times and we wanted a change of pace from the Midwest anyway. So we would be available when our son was away, but it seemed like a good idea. Never did we think we would end up swapping our 2500 square foot home to a 500 square foot condo just five houses down the street from them. To make things even more interesting, I ended up getting a job at the Library of Congress. So we watched our grandson grow up and it felt good being so close to family - even though we didn’t see them all that often. My husband was the back up baby sitter and he would be on call for whatever our daughter in law needed him for. But then our sim retired from the army and moved the family to central Virginia when our grandson was in middle school. It was never the same after that. In the end our grandson turned out to be a lovely fellow and will be a junior at UVA this year. For the third summer he is hosting white water rapid tours on the Hudson River. So happy birthday dear grandson! 

Happy Birthday!

Today is my husband’s 84th birthday. The sun is out and I am so thankful that we are celebrating another year and look forward to many more! Not a day is taken for granted and every day is cherished. 

Happy Birthday Dad

We share the same birthdate but a different month. It was way back in 1919 when my dad was born. He always liked the fall months and he and my mom would visit us in the Midwest for the color. My dad was a very quiet man but he provided for his family and made sure we all went to college. That’s the one thing I remember well. Any money we got or collected went in to the bank account for college. I don’t remember having to go without and we went on family vacations. And I learned the lesson that you don’t buy something if you can’t pay if for. He came from a very poor background, lived through the depression, was in WWII sand Korea. He loved the water and in his retirement years went on a lot of cruises. You could say he was your average Joe. And for that I am forever thankful. Happy Birthday Dad! 

A Birthday in the House

There is a big birthday in the house today. You may never know it. My husband never celebrated birthdays - for anyone. So I got out of the habit too - except for my parents, friends, siblings, and other family members. I think he likes to be remembered in spite of it. In error, someone mentioned his birthday on Facebook (two days before the actual date) and a lot of people noticed. And he enjoyed getting all of the comments. The problem is is that the comments are all on my account, so I have to speak on his behalf to reply. Sometimes having a single account has its drawbacks. I’m sure a lot of birthdays would be missed if not for Facebook reminders. Today he got an E-card from our dear friends in the Midwest and a text from our daughter in law who never forgets. It’s funny how she always remembers and our son never comments. The day is not over yet so there may be a few more well wishers out there. The dental office from Capitol Hill sent a card last week - we don’t even go there anymore. His office nurse passed away last year and she always sent a card. We will order pick up from Moby Dick tonight for dinner. It’s our favorite Persian place. Tonight I’ll put a candle on his cookies served along with tea so he can blow out a candle. I always have to put on my own candle and sing to myself! Reaching 83 is a huge milestone. I can hardly believe it. I’m wishing for another year of good health and happiness. After all that’s all that really matters since every day is a birthday. 

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad! We lost you in 2015 - can’t believe it’s been six years already. At least now Mom is with you. We miss you both.  

Happy Birthday Dad

It would have been my dad’s 101st birthday today! He was born in 1919 and lived to be 95 years old. He came from a very poor background, joined the Coast Guard at an early age, was a WWII and Korean War veteran, raised three kids and put them all through college, and loved to take cruises after he and mom retired. He convinced my mom to move to Florida way back in 1959 to “escape the icicles on your face.” He was a quiet kind of guy, and a gentle soul. I miss him. 

Happy Birthday!

It’s a very special day today. It’s my husband’s birthday. He hates having anything to do with birthdays, claiming they are over rated and were not celebrated when he was growing up. But he gets reminded of them by a couple of his closest work colleagues every year. He gets hard copy cards in the mail a few days before the actual day. Neither one of us does anything particularly out of the ordinary on days like these. We did our usual morning walk and I asked him if he would like to go out for lunch somewhere. I drove both to and from our lunch destination - something I wouldn’t usually do. I started wishing him a glorious day last evening and about every hour this morning. It’s a bright and sunny day which is unusual given the snow, ice, and rain of late. We are just so thankful that we are able to still get around and have each other’s company. That’s the best birthday gift I can think of. 

Happy 95th Birthday!

Facebook is good and bad. If you can overlook the annoying entries on subject matter that is volatile and irritating and search for the personal stories of people you care about, it’s a great way to keep up with the news. And when you see someone after a long time it feels like you never lost contact. But some people just don’t want to be bothered with social media, be exposed, or have negative feelings about anything on the internet. When my dad was at the facility for dementia residents, it was the best way to keep up with his activities and seeing photos of him. So every once in awhile I will post something about a family member that can be shared with a lot of my relatives and friends. And so was the case for my mom’s 95th birthday. I posted a photo from our recent visit in December and wished her a happy birthday. I think just about every one I know made a comment about it. One of my cousins posted a photo of my mom with her as a baby at her christening almost 70 years ago. My plan is to take a screen shot of all the comments and send them to her email so she can read all the sweet comments from people she knows and from people who just wish her well. I haven’t been able to convince her to use Facebook as a way to pass the time - she does use her iPad to read books and emails. Although she hates it when I use Facebook for this reason, I can’t imagine she won’t like the kind words. It’s nice to know someone is thinking of you for just a moment. I really appreciate it!