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| Judith Ashley |
With nothing coming to mind, I asked my granddaughter
what ideas she had for my September post. She suggested I write about
living with a teenager. I went to bed with that thought in mind and woke with
another idea that includes living with a teenager.
Marking the Seasons/Transitions is the suggested topic
for this month. When I woke, what was on my mind was Birthdays. And, this
summer was full of special birthdays.
June: My
youngest granddaughter’s birth month. Her 16th! It seemed to me that every day
of the month we did something related to her birthday. Preparations included a mani/pedi, hair trimmed, and a massage. On her special day she
had a professional photo shoot and included several of her friends; pizza party and sleepover. The next morning was breakfast out. Then Sunday was a
combination birthday and Father’s Day BBQ with 30 people spending time with her
including people she hadn’t seen in 10 years! Before the month was over, we had dinner at The Olive Garden, one of her favorite restaurants. |
| My aunt and cousin |
July: My
maternal aunt’s 103rd birthday celebration was enough of an
incentive to get me on a plane to Long Beach, CA. I spent 3 days with family –
most of one day with my aunt. We reminisced about the past and talked of the
present. Her philosophy is to take one day at a time. She and another friend of
mine who reached 100 years of age have a similar life philosophy…they don’t
stress out about things over which they have no control and they are good at
discerning what’s what.
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| Best Friend |
August: My
aunt’s daughter i.e. my cousin and two best friends celebrate birthdays this
month. I was able to pre-celebrate my cousin’s day with dinner out and then a
‘happy birthday’ call on The Day. I was called in to work unexpected on one of
my friend’s birthday so spaced that off. She got a long, apologetic email from
me several days later. Good friend that she is and because she celebrates The
Month of her birthday I was absolved of any wrong doing. Two days ago I called
my other friend to wish her a Happy Birthday. As we were talking I was reminded
that my previous calls with her during August were to inform her of the death
of one of our colleagues. We’ve reached that stage/age in life where that is a
common occurrence.
In looking at my summer, I started it with a celebration
of youth and the joys and tribulations of living through the teen years and
ended it with a celebration of a long (40+ year) friendship and the thought
that we don’t have another 40 years ahead.
You can visit me at www.JudithAshley.blogspot.com for
more about my Long Beach, California trip and family connections. And, you’ve a
standing invitation to check out my website at www.JudithAshleyRomance.com
September our guests are all Western Romance Authors. If
you live in North America and leave a comment with your email address, you may
win Linda Lael Miller’s Big Sky Country. Don’t tell anyone but I bought
a second copy and only noticed it when I pulled the book from my TBR pile –
thought that other cover looked familiar! LOL
© Judith Ashley 2012
6 comments:
wow, Judith, what a lot of celebrating! I love being around teens and kids, it keeps us young.
So true, Diana - but I'm also reminded of the passing of time. It seems like just a few years ago rather than 16 when she was born. Her older sister is 22-1/2 and that just shouldn't be. My son, their father, will be 50 next May. How did that happen?
I'm always impressed to hear about birthdays over 100. It even sounds like they still have their wits about them. Lovely stories, Judith. Enjoy every moment of every day with those you love.
I believe enjoying every moment of every day with those we love is one of the secrets to a fulfilled life, Tam. Each morning I give thanks that I'm surrounding in the light of love and gratitude and because of that I know my life is full of joy and happiness. How could it be anything but?
I can't believe how quickly time goes by. Sometimes it's scary!
We are truly blessed to have people we love who love us back in our lives!
I believe, our connections to people who care about us is what keeps us going with times are tough. Studies have shown that a strong connection to another person is the single most important contributing factor to a person's success in life.
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