Play Those 88's by Barbara Quinn

My mother turned 88 a few days ago and a small group of her family and friends celebrated by going out to brunch with her at a favorite spot. She was particularly happy that everyone could have unlimited Champagne, Mimosas, and Bloody Mary’s, and she loved the fact that there were so many choices so that everyone found something they liked to eat. In typical Mom fashion she insisted on treating the group as her birthday present. What a wonderful thing it was to see her family and friends gathered around her. The restaurant made a fuss over her, and at the end of the meal made a special dessert plate with chocolate and raspberry syrup hearts around an individual tira misu. Everyone in the packed place sang Happy Birthday. Mom had no trouble eating it all up and she also enjoyed several glasses of champagne, insisting on everyone at the table clinking everyone else's glass. That led to much laughter and confusion over who hadn't clinked glasses with whom.

I’m grateful that she was happy on this day. It hasn’t been easy for her since my dad died a couple of years ago. After 60 years of marriage, her days definitely are lonely and without their center. But she’s finally moving on and is able to find a little joy in watching her family grow and change, in spending time in the company of those who share this journey of life with her.

Happy Birthday, Mom! May we all clink glasses and get a little tipsy together next year.

Celebrate by Barbara Quinn

I’m most grateful for happy occasions. Life is filled with ups and downs, and it’s important to take the time to enjoy the ups when they arrive. The good times help us to get through the bad ones. Yes, they are often bittersweet. I miss people who used to be there. I don’t always feel my best. But, sometimes just attending a fun event can make me feel better, make me see that there is something up ahead that will be a joy.

I went to my first “bris” yesterday and what a pleasure it was to be present at this ritual circumcision. It’s not so much what happens though that was fascinating. Rather, for me, it’s the support and camaraderie present at these occasions that makes them special. Dozens of people gather round the new parents and new babe and share in the joy of a new life, a new beginning. What a wonder new life is. How nice to acknowledge that together.

Birthdays, graduations, christenings, weddings all are opportunities for us to gather together and share the company of others. We’re social beings and studies have shown the importance to health of having a support system.

Those we choose to spend good times with are often the same ones who are there during the difficult times. Think about the people you like to share good news with. They are probably the ones you’d like to have around when the going gets rough. Take the time to maintain those friendships. Time really does fly and life does have a way of rudely interrupting the best of plans. So why not celebrate! I intend to keep on partying for as long as I can. Cheers!

Oh, Baby! by Barbara Quinn

Americo Bret Quinn - 4 days old

My grandson arrived a few days ago. What a joy it is to welcome him to the world and to our family. He may be only a few days old, but he already is himself, a happy, curious, fellow who is remarkably calm considering how much kicking he was doing in the womb. Is there anything sweeter than soft little baby sounds? Those coos balance out the lusty screams. His skin is softer and smoother than velvet.

Americo Bret Quinn (named for my daughter-in-law’s grandfather, Americo,and my son, Bret) is our first grandchild. He was born in White Plains Hospital, which is the same hospital where I gave birth to Bret. That’s also the hospital my father spent most of his last days. I have bittersweet feelings when I roam those halls. How nice it is to have some more happy memories there.

Little Co came at a perfect time. The day my mother-in-law was buried, we received a phone call that Co had decided it was time to bust out of his comfy surroundings. There’s nothing like a new baby to ease the pain of losing a loved one. Only a little over a month ago we lost our nephew, and then my mother-in-law. What a rollercoaster of a ride these past weeks have been. Co is truly a wonderful gift and I have a feeling he’ll be this way throughout his life, showing up whenever and wherever he is needed with a ready smile and a calm hand.

At the hospital we stood around him noting the familiar characteristics: my son’s and husband’s cleft chin and forehead are there, and his fingers are clearly his Mom’s long slender ones. Co also reminds me of my grandfather, who was blindingly white-skinned and freckled, with pale blue eyes and whose large head was passed along to my brother but thankfully not to me. Co’s nose looks to be small and rounded like my Mom’s. That smile of his is going to be blinding, like my daughter-in-law’s. I don’t see myself in his blending of features. But I know I’m there, in his blood and soul.

Birthday Girl by Angie Ledbetter

Today is my baby's birthday. I can't believe she's 19, which makes me about 127, and I'm grateful for all that she is -- delightful, smart, moral, vivacious and just generally awesome. She always makes me laugh with her quick wit and quirky observations, which make me wonder if she'll be a writer one day. Like me, she observes the little details and hears several conversations going on around her simultaneously. I couldn't be more proud of/for her and her accomplishments and drive, but the best thing about my baby is her kindness and compassion for others.

A photo-holic (also like me), her gift from Dad and I is a storage unit for all the pictures she's saved to her hard drive Photo Bucket so it won't melt down from digital photo overload. And I will spend time today letting her know how precious she is to me. We will celebrate the joy she adds to others' lives.

I appreciate many aspects of life and the people who add so much to my existence, but none more than the gift of my children and their unique personalities. So, Happy Birthday, "Little Donkey." I hope someone forwards this to you since you accidentally blocked my email account long ago. *laugh* You were definitely worth the 26 hours of labor!

Making Our Day by Nannette Croce

Recently we celebrated my parents’ 85th birthday. A momentous occasion though at times I sense my parents' ambivalence at having made it this far. The last of their siblings on both sides, used to large family gatherings just because it's Sunday, no need to wait for a special event, it seemed this year could never meet up to expectations.

So this birthday instead of a smaller group of people sitting around the table in a down-sized dining room, we surprised them with a a blast from the past––The Boss.

No, not that Boss. Our “Boss” is my Mom’s cousin. A barber by trade, every Sunday he visited his suburban cousins and their neighbors, giving cheap haircuts. Short on formal education and pretense but long on humor and street wisdom, he always put me in mind of Red Skelton as he entered the house each week whistling some operatic aria, dispensing hard pieces of Bazooka bubble gum to the kids, rough housing with over-stimulated dogs and telling the most hilarious stories usually involving his broken down, several-times-used Edsel.

With him unable to drive and my parents’ difficulty getting around, we hadn’t seen him in ages and didn’t know what to expect, but when he walked in last weekend, whistling a tune and chiding my parents for living someplace so hard to find, the years melted away. He’d left the bubble gum in his other coat. Our teeth can’t handle it anyway. He––and now his daughter––regaled us with stories we somehow hadn’t heard or had, perhaps, forgotten.

Boss is 92.

Thanks for making our day!