Birthdays & Christmas...

Have you noticed people celebrate birthdays differently? As a young mother, I usually made a big deal of our children's birthdays. Inviting relatives and a few kids their age. Unless I could buy them off. I wasn't above bribing them with cold hard cash. If one of the kids wanted something really expensive, sometimes they could be convinced to give up the party. Take the money and run. Really, birthdays should be a bigger deal in the life of a kid than Christmas. Celebrating their own uniqueness of the special day they came into and made your life so much better.

 

Shy, introverted Adam's 4th birthday, Davenport, 1983...

'Da Birch Trees...

I'll own up to this one. I've had a love-hate relationship with trees since I moved to Michigan 28 years ago. Before moving to this tree stuffed state, I never thought about trees much. The last Michigan tree to human census taken totaled 5,691 trees to 1 person. They're everywhere. Except at Lake Michigan. What a relief. The only place I can really breathe.

 

Lake Michigan on a very windy day...

Lest I forget...

To infinity and beyond! Here's hoping for at least another 10-15 good years. My Mom's life headed south when she was around 70. My Dad though, was about 90. I'll stick with 80-ish. So we are in the year 2031. My incredible memory is fading. I am somewhat dependent on others, and none to happy about it. Names, faces and stories are on the tip of my tongue, but at times I can no longer retrieve them. Foggy brained and frustrated, I've become somewhat cranky. Now there's a surprise. Visitors tend to forget I've lost most of my hearing. So they mumble, or talk when not facing me. This gives them the impression I have chosen not to join in their conversation or answer them. When nothing could be further from the truth. Here's a snippet of my imagined future life as I age. At least my side of the topics and conversations. And some of my very favorite pictures of those I love. Plus me.

 

Baby Neese, 1951. Braids, 1955...

Downsizing...

I just read the funniest blog post ever. Of course it wasn't mine. I'm not funny. Groan. And I don't write well. Sigh. It's my lack of vocabulary. Lazy. Plus my inability to put my thoughts down on paper well. Should have made an effort in school. Slacker. I do however, admit wholeheartedly, I am green with envy about her writing ability. Did I mention very dark, dark green? How I wish I was funny and could really write. Not to be. Well, maybe I'd tone down her style a bit. She was fairly free with the salty language. Ok, it might have been a bit raunchy, but the content was hilarious. She wrote about the movement embraced by thousands. On living tiny.

 

Yup, tried it with Shannon in 1973...

Gini & Hyle...

It was the second marriage for both of them. Each had lost their spouse. Hyle was a bit older than Gini. Actually I met them first socially. As Parish Visitor I was visiting Charlie and Opal (blog post, October 2014). Hyle and Gini were friends of theirs, plus members of our church. So I added them to my regular visiting list. They lived in North Muskegon, a couple miles from me.

 

Gini and Hyle, 2008...

Jim...

I should wait until his birthday on the 9th. But his favorite holiday was always the 4th of July. Jim enjoyed sitting in his front yard, watching and waving as folks drove by. Someone might stop and visit for awhile. He was very fond of cold beer, something grilled, and Mag's famous potato salad. As it got dark, he'd watch the grandkids (mildly amused) run around like nut-cases with sparklers. Or mucking up his sidewalk with snakes and snaps. The holiday highlight though was watching the fireworks from the nearby ball diamond.

 

Jim in the front yard in Rock Valley, about 1980...