Milestone Celebrations

As I age my social activity seems to consist of funerals, milestone birthdays and anniversaries. I often have a bleak social calendar, and therefore I get excited about an invitation to a birthday or anniversary party. I have always enjoyed the anticipation and planning of going to a celebration. Even thinking about what I am going to wear takes considerable thought.    

I recently attended a "90th" birthday celebration for my uncle. It was a grand afternoon where the community came out in droves to share cake with the birthday boy. Judging from the size of the crowd, he was well known and thought of fondly by so many people. My uncle stood there and greeted everyone as we all had our few seconds to wish him a "Happy Birthday".  

I love creative ways of celebrating birthdays. This post is a stroll down memory lane for me, since I have celebrated many a birthday and anniversary in my time.  

When Dad turned 80, we wanted to celebrate him, but his health wasn't the greatest. We decided to have a noon barbeque on the actual date, August 20th, which was in the middle of the week. The weather cooperated and it was wonderful. People came for a burger, cake and to say, "Happy Birthday Harding". 

As Mom closes in on 90, I am reflecting on the milestone birthdays that she has had. When she turned 70, we had a tea party. We asked her girlfriends to come for noon tea. The tables were set, each unique with a different set of China. The menu consisted of fancy sandwiches, salads and of course birthday cake. It was a tea party, so the ladies dressed up in their party dress and it was such a fun girly event. On her 75th we went to Celebrations Dinner Theatre in Winnipeg. Mom even ended up on stage dancing with the performers. For her 80th birthday we had ice cream cupcakes with her Villa Friends on her actual birthday. A few weeks later, Mom, Kay and I hopped a plane to Vegas for a few days. Pretty good for an 80-year-old. Lastly, on her 85th we invited her Villa friends for lunch consisting of chili on baked potatoes that were grown in her garden. A gift of beautiful birthday cupcakes made at the local bakery was delivered to the door. 

When Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary we hosted a "Casino Night" for family and friends. "Dixon Bucks" were given to everyone to play at the tables and to use later for auction items. Although they were both in wheelchairs, we felt blessed to have their mothers at the event. Grandma Dixon was up there playing cards because she had never gambled, and she was always game to try something new. Their "50th" Anniversary was celebrated in a smaller way with a come and go tea at the Villa. My sister and her hubby recently celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a grand evening. Fifty years of marriage is remarkable, and it should be celebrated in some fashion.  

Since I turned 50, and every five years following, I have taken the time to make a bucket list of commitments. The list is the same number as my age, with plans to complete the list within the next 5 years. Some of the list is moved on to the next five years but it is astounding how many I have completed. 

I just have to share what I think are neat milestone celebration ideas. When my Granddaughter turned 10, she chose 10 different activities to celebrate being 10. When my friend was about to turn 75, I contacted as many people as I could, and asked them to text her on her birthday. My goal was for her to get 75 messages. Everyone came through in a big way as her phone blew up with birthday wishes. Facebook is always a great way to get ideas and to spread the word for just about anything. My friend's mom turned 90 during Covid. The family sent out requests for those that knew their mom to send her a birthday card. Let's face it, it is exciting to get mail at any time. Long after her birthday, she received a gift of mail. The gift that kept on giving as she was thought of all across Canada and perhaps other countries on her 90th birthday. Yesterday, a friend told me she was going to a 60-birthday party. She was to dress like the 60s and be there by 8:00 for go go dance lessons. She had ordered her peace earrings and necklace online, as well as her wild bell bottoms. Can you even imagine the fun that she will have.

My friend says, "At our age, every birthday is a day to celebrate". I think we have so few things in our life that we celebrate, we need to make sure every birthday is one of them. Instead of thinking we are another year older, we need to think we are blessed with another year of life. We need to celebrate like kids do. They anticipate their birthdays for weeks and envision their party and day with great excitement. So many just say, "it's just another day", yes, it is, another day of you, and that is worth celebrating.