CELEBRATE!

In 20 minutes I will officially be 63 years old. That fact tends to boggle my mind! But what is even harder to wrap my brain around is the knowledge that in 10 days my son, my “baby”, will be 37 years old! And my tiny little 4-1/2 pound baby granddaugher is now a 17 month old active toddler. Plus in a few months Lou & I will celebrate our 12th anniversary together. None of this seems even remotely believable. Yet, it is all reality. Where on earth did the time go?

The best part of being 63 is being a grandma to my sweet, little Charley Ellen.  She is a true delight & playing with her is by far my favorite pastime. I suppose if the reward for being old is having a grandchild to love & adore, then it is definitely worth it! Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is certainly the best way to stay young at heart.

Charley playing in the sand.

Lou & I took Charley to the park last week.

This little girl loves the slide & so does Oma.

Fortunately, I’m still "young" enough to enjoy traveling with Lou, although my body does tend to feel a long, cramped flight much more than in years prior. We have a road trip planned to upstate New York & surrounding areas in May. So far, we have no plans to slow down anytime soon.

This fall I will finally embark on a trip that has been a dream since I was in high school. When I learned about Greek mythology & the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, I told myself I must see that someday. Well, someday will arrive this year. We have booked a two week cruise from Istanbul, Turkey, that visits Ephesus (another place high on my list!), Ukraine (high on Lou’s list!), Bulgaria, & Greece. Wow!

This is our most recent portrait from the southern Caribbean cruise in December.

Way back in high school in the 1960s I had literally been to Nevada & Tijuana – that was it! Now, I’ve been to all 50 United States, 39 countries & 5 continents – and counting!

It is still difficult to comprehend how in the world it happened that I woke up one day to discover that I have quite a few little wrinkles, lots of gray hair, a few extra pounds that won’t go away & the teenagers at Taco Bell give me the free senior drink without asking. But it’s really not so bad! In fact, it beats the hell out of the alternative!

A good friend told me several years ago that you stop counting the birthdays but you keep celebrating them – excellent advice!

So with that in mind - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!