Skip to main content

"90"


Yesterday we celebrated my Mom's "90th" Birthday. If she is any indication of what being 90 is all about, it isn't going to be so bad. Mom loves conversation full of fashion, food and family. She dresses sharp everyday with matching jewelry, often Fifth Avenue. She loves her iPad and can manage her phone to talk or text. She lives with other seniors and enjoys their company. She has been a widow for 18 years; she has endured losing her home to fire and relocating to another town when she was 88 and a massive heart attack at 89.  Mom didn't want a public celebration, but it was a celebration none the less. It started the week before and I am sure we will cherish the memories forever. Nothing could have been more perfect than how we celebrated Mom.   

I had planned for 4 years to do this on Mom's special milestone birthday. I asked people to get involved in "90 Cards for Carole". That certainly made for a fun week of anticipating the mail drop-off. It is remarkable how many "90" cards that are out there to be purchased. What a mixture of cards, some were handmade, some were from total strangers, but every one of them was full of love and birthday wishes. My nephew's friend, Sherry Anderson, sent wishes and a team picture. My niece secured a video message from Brad Gushue. Mom got a special care written in Cree and a bundle of messages from the Arcola Daycare. The "90 Cards for Carole" was achieved and exceeded. Thank you to the Elliott family for the wonderful idea. 

There is a small bakery business in my Mom's community. We purchased some cookies from this talented young baker. Not only are they a work of art, but they tasted as good as they looked.  

Purple is the color for a 90 celebration. That worked great because mom's favorite color is also purple. We transformed the common area where mom lives, and it was wonderful to have a big open space all to ourselves.  

Mom chose turkey for her birthday meal. It was provided by "Tailgate", one of Mom's favorite places to eat. Taylor not only owns the business, but she is also Mom's great niece. We finished the night with birthday cake and memories. 

September 28, 1934, was a Friday. Once you turn 90 you are a nonagenarian, only 36% of Canadians reach this milestone. We couldn't be more blessed to have a Mom that is so independent and is living the 90-year-old life and loving it.  










Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2024 at 7:46 AM

    Your mom is certainly an inspiration to all of us! So happy she had a wonderful day and was able to enjoy !My family and I love her dearly!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2024 at 9:55 AM

    You ate so fortunate Faye and I am fully aware how much you appreciate having her still in your life❤️Tetesa

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2024 at 11:38 PM

    What a wonderful tribute to your mom. You are so fortunate to still have her and she is doing so well. I'm so glad she had such a special day.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Pink is just another Color

Just  over a week ago, Waves of Hope hosted an awareness day. We called it "A Day of Hope and Education". It was decided in October that Waves of Hope would get behind a researcher at Brandon University. Dr. Majumder is working on early detection of breast cancer, through a simple blood test. She is also researching to predict treatment outcomes for triple negative breast cancer. TNBC is extremely aggressive and has few treatment options. Her work is to lower the resistance of the cells and make them more responsive to treatment. She is also working on developing treatment options that are not so toxic, but still just as effective when treating breast cancer.  Her dream is to find a cure for cancer.  Little did we know in October what April was going to bring.  It has been an absolute honor to spend time with Dr. Majumder and her husband who I call her wingman. Sujit is her lab manager and so much more. They are two of the most caring and wonderful people I know. The...
9 comments
Read more

Celebrate Female Friendships

I have written about women and friendships many times, and here I am again. There are lots of catch words to describe friendships such as being in someone's tribe, BFF, sista or in a sisterhood. Some women have a large circle of friends, whereas other women are content with one dear friend that is there through every aspect of her life.    Every time the gals from my paddling team get together it is a celebration. We call it a practice, meeting, volunteering or whatever we choose for that night. But, in reality it a celebration of friendship and survival. Some of those friendships started in 1999 and others are only a couple of years old. Maybe it is the stories, but it seems like we have known each other for a much longer time. This group emulates sisterhood, and it is an honor to be part of it.    If I had to advocate for something, it would always be the strength of a woman. Women have learned how to be adaptable. Through their entire lives a woman's body goes thr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cancerversary

A C ancerversary is a definition that was created by Bestie which means a celebration to honor breast cancer survivorship.  It all began two years ago when I suggested that we should celebrate with a trip for what was going to be her 10-year mark of survivorship. She could pick whatever she wanted to do, and I would do it. We attempted to make plans, some as simple as a weekend in Winnipeg and some more elaborate like a cruise down the St. Lawerence. For one reason or another, we couldn't make anything happen. Life stepped in our way and said, "you aren't going anywhere", and we didn't for two years. Then out of the blue  I got a text from Bestie that said, "do you want to go on a Rhine River Cruise?". This was it; she had picked how we would celebrate and I was in. Yep, we planned what would be the biggest trip of our lives in a few minutes by text. That was nearly a year ago. There is considerable planning that goes into a trip like this. Our roles wer...
3 comments
Read more