Slice of Life: A Birthday to Remember!

 I wasn't sure that I wanted to be away from home for my birthday, but I decided that being with my sister for a birthday would make it special. We've not shared many birthdays in person as adults. So I booked a flight for early June to visit my sister in Bryan, Texas, my first visit in two years. Little did I know at the time that it would turn out to be one of the memorable birthdays in my life. 

First of all, my nephew and his family live in College Station, so of course they would join us for birthday cake and ice cream.

I invited my niece who lives in Texas (about three hours away) and my sister-in-law who lives in Oklahoma (almost seven hours away) to join us. And was thrilled when both responded that they could come! We loved attending church together on Sunday. 

 

My sis, me, my sister-in-law, and my niece

 

The biggest surprise came when my nephew and family (who live in OK, seven hours away) decided to join us! I failed to get a family pic while they were here, but here's one they took for me on their return trip home. 

The first cousins!

The second cousins

 

 The birthday girl!

The birthday girl's view!

At some point during the evening's festivities, I escaped to the bedroom for a little peace and quiet. Only it was filled with five cousins playing together. Some of them didn't even notice that I was in the room at first. I began questioning each in turn about their grade in school (funny how teachers prefer knowing that to knowing ages). And that's when we discovered that we had a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grader in the house! I insisted they line up by grade for a fun pic. And yes, those are my toes in the pic!

 

 

And that's how we ended up with sixteen people at my 66th birthday party. Thanks to everyone who joined the celebration. Because of the pandemic, and because we lost two siblings in 2020, and because I'm one of the elders in our far flung family, this gathering was a dear occasion and a birthday celebration that I'll hold forever in my heart.