In my family, we celebrated golden birthdays, the ones where your age matches that of the day of the month. Today marks the 60th anniversary of my golden birthday, and I am filled with memories of that day.
My grandmothers, grandfather, and aunt always joined for family celebrations of birthdays. There was a ritual: dinner, then a home-made birthday cake, with everyone singing Happy Birthday, including a second verse, "We're glad to have you, we're glad to have you! Happy birthday dear_______, Happy birthday to you!" Only then could the candles be blown out. Ice cream. Coffee. And finally, PRESENTS! All my gifts were wrapped in gold paper with gold bows. I cannot remember what was in them, but I do recall my parents giving me a breathtakingly beautiful card--I still remember the feel of the paper and its delicate aqua blue colors.
That weekend, my mother threw me her first and last children's birthday party, inviting 15+ of my female classmates. Even with my grandmother and aunt there to assist, it must have been bedlam! There was a real bakery-bought birthday cake, decorated with a bluebird made out of pressed sugar. (Long after the party, that sugar bluebird lived on in an upper cupboard; it was too beautiful to eat.)
The centerpiece of the table was a box wrapped like a present, with the lid separately wrapped for easy removal. Out of it were ribbons leading to each child's plate. After the cake and ice cream had been eaten and the table had been cleared, my mother removed the lid of the box, and told each girl to pull. Out popped favors wrapped in tissue paper and more ribbon for every child. . It was all very exciting, and for my mother, grandmother and aunt, almost certainly exhausting!
Many years have passed since that birthday, but I think of that day many times. Of my mother and father, of my brothers Ken and Allen, Grandma Pete and Grandpa; Aunt Pudgie. and Grandma Tichacek. Now I am the only one left of those that once gathered around that table; but I am not left alone: God has surrounded me with my dear husband, daughters and sons-in-law, and even a percious grandchild. And beyond them are dozens and dozens of friends. I am overwhelmed with their love.
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