This past weekend I ventured into my sixty-sixth year of
life. Yes, you read that right…sixty-six years! I spent the day eating way too
much good food, laughing and just goofing around with family and friends at a
Christmas get together that also included a bit of a birthday celebration. With
a December birthday, one becomes quite accustomed to spending the day
celebrating Christmas, St. Lucia Day, Hanukkah or some other fete that happens
around that time of year. Not a new thing to me, it seems that my first
birthday was celebrated along with my brother’s fourth – he was born in
October, so perhaps in 1949, it was just easier and more cost-effective to
share a day in common.
I uncovered these old pix recently and luckily my mom carefully
wrote, in white ink on the black pages of the leather-bound photo album, the
event and the date of most pix included. This party took place in November and
since we lived in SoCal, tables and chairs were dragged out to the backyard and
the fabulous fashions of the day reflect the warmer weather. Sorry for the quality; but sixty-five year old black and white images that have gone unprotected for so many years are
faded and fragile; but I did my best. 
In case you wondered, that is me in what was called a Taylor
Tot in those days. I do remember riding and sitting in it and I still remember
the details of it. It was turquoise, with a row of beads to keep me entertained
I suppose; and it was made so it could be pushed like a stroller or,
with the bottom panel removed, I could push myself along which gave me some
mobility before I could walk on my own. Just for the record, I was a very late
walker, due to some weird round-heeled shoes that kept making me tip over. Once
my mom discovered that it was the shoes not the kid and changed them up, I was
zipping around town! Back to the Taylor Tot, one of my favorite stories that my dad liked to tell involved him working in the garage and me in the Taylor Tot, which was
tied with a short rope to an anchor nearby. Seems I started walking down the
slightly angled driveway, gaining momentum very quickly. My dad caught me just
before I would have run out of rope and perhaps been catapulted from my seat! (Shades
of Saturday Night Live?)
But back to the first-year party, I love that all my aunts
are floating around the table – and, of course, I love the fashions of the times. My guess
is that all of those dresses were handmade considering the strong “fashion
designers, tailors and exquisite seamstresses in the family” trend. And, it tickles me that there is at least one dog in attendance. I don’t remember that pooch so I
am thinking it might have belonged to a cousin or a grandparent and was just
along for the celebration. I've never met a dog who didn’t like birthday cake! One
thing though – where are all the uncles?
Back to the present – Saturday was fun. With the advent of
digital technology comes the fun of photography. Lots of pix were snapped –
this being my favorite. A “classy” me stretched across the laps of three of my
nieces who live in this part of the world. There were other pix; but I’ll spare
you having to walk through the stack! As I drove home along the back country
roads, enjoying the beautifully manicured 100-year-old farmhouses looking so
festive with their holiday lights, I had time to reflect on all the birthdays over
the years – that’s a lot of reflecting! Most of those days were spent with friends and
family – a few surprise events, a few planned events and several casual days
with no real plans.
I know, most of you are thinking “what a granny!” But the
reality of it is that I am so grateful for reaching sixty-six. Granny that I
am...many of my friends and family did not get to see this age – so as
startling as it is at times to see the old woman who looks back at me in the
mirror every day, I honestly give thanks for every wrinkle, bag and sag. You
see, it means I have been given the ultimate gift of growing older year by year…and, as my dad would always say,
it sure beats the alternative. So, to the universe, I toss out a great big
“thank you” for giving me all that I have experienced over my lifetime and all
that I have shared with friends and family. And, on that note I end with a boisterous “happy birthday
to me!”
P.S. Yes, even on my birth announcement card from the hospital in which I was born, I noticed people were having a really hard time spelling my last name correctly! So I suppose that marks the official start of the Spelling Bee that is my life!
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