Sunday, July 12, 2009

Happy Birthday, Mom B!

This is the month of the birthdays - it starts on July 5 with my mother's big day, then July 7 belongs to my son's fiance and July 9 is my mother-in-law's. We celebrated this last one BIG - it was her 90th - a very important day. We had most of the family in for dinner at Vargo's, a longtime favorite of hers. They sat us downstairs in a semi-private area and there was a piano player there, too. He came around and visited the table and took requests - ours was, of course, "Happy Birthday" plus a lot of the tunes from the 40s. The dinner was great - just what we were hoping for - and then we went back to the "Media Room" at the Terrace where Mom B lives. Once there, we showed tons of pictures from the past thanks to the scanning abilities of my husband, enjoyed a delicious birthday cake and champagne toast and then passed out photo memory books created from Kodak Gallery. It was a very late night and the birthday girl was definitely fading by the time it was over, but I know she had a great time. 

Now we need to rest up for my own celebration next weekend. It's the big 6-0 for me and Clif is taking me for a weekend of rest and relaxation with our whole family at the new Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Austin. I won't be participating in any champagne toasts, but I'm really at the point where I think cold water and an occasional Diet Coke taste pretty good. Our Seattle son and his fiance will be celebrating with us - and then Braden will come back to Texas the next weekend for Brian's bachelor party. It's a very busy month!

August doesn't slow down much - the festivities for Brian's and Tiffany's wedding gear up - there's a shower and the bridesmaids' luncheon - and then Brian and Braden celebrate their 30th! My friend Maggi is in New Hampshire where there are so many birthdays that they are having a "Decades of Decadence" party. Maybe we should have done that for all of our parties - one huge celebration might have done the trick. Then again, it's kinda fun having all these parties.

The good news is that I am feeling significantly better. While I'm not totally back to "normal," I really think I can see a lot of improvement. My energy is still a challenge, but I find myself doing things that I know I wouldn't have been able to manage a few weeks ago. I have some testing and doctor appointments lined up this week and next - that keeps me busy, too. I think that I'm going to be in good shape by the fall. All of this is still hard to believe - I can't answer the questions about why this happened to me, but I continue to feel grateful that I work at the #1 cancer center in the world and and feel so lucky to be on the receiving end of the very special care offered to me here. 

Now, as we go into the middle of July, please just try to stay cool - it's hot out there!
I'm still celebrating! - xxxgbg

3 comments:

  1. Whew! That's a lot of celebrating. So glad that you're feeling better. Have a very, very, very happy birthday weekend with your family.
    Love, Jacque

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  2. So glad we stopped by Lost Pines last January. Can't wait to hear about your weekend there. Happy Birthday, Fellow Summer Birthday Girl! Have fun, fun, fun! gg

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  3. What a wonderful and busy summer you're having! I'm pooped just reading about all of your activities. Here's hoping your 60th bash is fabulous. Happy, happy birthday! Much love to you, GBG.
    xoxo,
    R

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