A Birthday Party

THE PARTY – My BDIL (beautiful daughter-in-law) and son joined the festivities celebrating my husband’s birthday.  This is my thirty-seventh year to wish my husband a happy birthday.   In our (almost) four decades together we have grown older and wiser, added a few gray hairs and a couple of extra pounds; that’s probably because of all the “wisdom” we have stored in obvious places.  Gathering with family and friends around the table is important part of our heritage that we want to share with our new daughter-in-law.  She has already observed, during their dating and engagement period, that our family has A Lot of Family Reunions!

It is fun getting her perspective of our clan’s traditions.  One family gathering is our annual pilgrimage to east Texas.  I’m a native Texan myself so it is odd I can’t understand English when we are in east Texas.  It is a different dialect that has a cadence all its own but that’s my husband’s side of the family.  I understand my side of the family perfectly.  My husband claims they are difficult to understand at times – go figure.

So my son and BDIL are now in the swirl of birthday parties, family reunions, weddings and funerals.  Being present is the ultimate representation - gifts, cards, Facebook messages are all good acknowledgements of a special occasion, but it can’t compare to the joy on my husband’s face when dear ones were giving him birthday hugs.  Thanks for the memories – and keep them coming!