Sensational Sixtieth

Birthdays traditionally are regarded as pretty happy days. In fact, all the ones I’ve experienced in the past have been categorized in this way. However, this year’s anniversary of my birth would have to be considered a bit traumatic and depressing- that is until it was transformed into something sensational.

I guess the problem was in my perception of being sixty years old. For all my life, sixty was old. My dad died when he was 65. Many more people in the Obituaries are in their sixties than are in their nineties. In fact, a friend of ours recently died suddenly, just short of his 60th birthday. Never mind that some of my best friends are in their 60’s and they are still very young in my eyes, as well as my husband, who will turn 65 this year. I have heard it said that the sixties are the new forties, but it was just too “up close and personal” for me to be excited about this birthday.

Besides that, the day itself was a bit of a downer. It snowed like crazy and I had to figure out how to get up the hill to drive in to work early in the morning, before the sun came up and before the snowplow came. I hadn’t told anyone at work that it was my birthday, so there were no birthday wishes (serves me right!) and our planned attendance at Ward Temple Night didn’t happen because there was no parking for us at the Temple with the snow situation. We came home and watched a Jazz basketball game instead, which I ended up watching by myself because David went to sleep on the couch.

Fast forward nine days later…. I gave myself an awesome birthday gift- a trip to Seattle! (Thank you Southwest for having a half-price sale!) David and I flew out on Thursday night after work and spent a fun weekend visiting family and seeing the sights. We spent the first two nights with my sister Jennifer and her husband Denis. What fun to hang out with them! They considered it my birthday weekend and showered me with special treats, breakfast, and fun times. We even caught the UW basketball bug and joined in cheering the team on in two different PAC 10 nail-biters!

On Friday, David and I took the bus downtown, had lunch, did a little impromptu shopping, and soaked up the ambience of the Pike Place Market on a glorious spring-like day.

Notice the sign- Local Color. . . . The guy was singing as he was balancing his guitar and hula-hooping.

This was the view from the park at the end of the Pike St. Market. Mt. Rainier is in the distance.

That night featured the centerpiece of the weekend and the big reason for the trip- seeing Jennifer’s show at the Seattle Children’s Theater. She is a set designer and had been working for a year on a world premiere, especially commissioned for SCT. It was a coming of age story of a spoiled young Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. We had seen the model of the set and heard the story when we were in Seattle in October, so we were very excited to see the end result.

We got all dressed up for the show (pretty much overkill) and found ourselves amidst a predominantly pre-teen audience and their enthusiastic parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, scout leaders, and other assorted significant others. I think we were the only “un-attached” adults in the audience. But the experience was spectacular, with the set being the star of the show, as evidenced by the questions asked by the kids after the show- “How did you make the mummy disappear?” "How did you move the walls?”

The next day, we visited my mom’s grave with Denis and Jennifer and left some cute baby daffodils bought at the Market the day before.Then we headed out to take the Ferry out to Bainbridge Island and right back. (Jessie the dog can’t be left for too long.) Ferry rides are one of David's great pleasures when in Seattle.That night, we met our daughter Julie’s family at a Chinese restaurant for a birthday dinner. The food was delicious, the candles and birthday fortune cookies (a chocolate dipped one for me!) were fun, and the rousing “Happy Birthday” song by the waiters and waitresses reminded me a bit of the “Fa, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra!” song at the end of A Christmas Story. After dinner, we said “Goodbye,” to J & D and went home with Julie and her family to spend the next two nights. Julie had asked David to help her with Sharing Time in Primary the next day, so I stayed for one presentation- he shared an experience he had with the importance of obeying his parents- and then I went home to be with Meg who was recuperating from a bad bout with a stomach bug. After Church, the plan was to do a Sunday afternoon hike, but we settled for a wild, windy look at Snoqualmie Falls instead of taking a chance on getting blown off Rattlesnake Ridge

Dinner was a spectacular birthday celebration! Lance grilled his famous marinated salmon. . . . . . and Julie outdid herself with a wonderful salad, rolls, asparagus, roasted potatoes, and a double chocolate cake for her chocoholic mom. Caleb and Ashley added to the chocolate high by whipping up some fudge, as well.
There were candles to blow out and gifts to open. . .

. . . with the biggest and best surprise being a booklet, “Sixty Years of Memories”- 60 great memories shared by our kids, their spouses, and grandkids. What a treasure! I won’t lie, it did make me cry- and laugh. It almost made me wish I was older, so there would be more memories to enjoy- the important word here is “almost!”

We ended the evening playing games and loving an impromptu violin recital starring Meg.
Bright and early the next morning, Grandpa and Kate enjoyed a brisk jog to school before we headed out to the airport.

We had an awesome weekend of celebrating! Thanks to everyone who contributed to such an awesome birthday!! Amazing what joyful experiences will do for your perspective! Sixty doesn’t seem so old now that I am a few weeks into it and I love the comments that I’ve gotten from my “true” friends when they find out that I am sixty- “Wow! You’re a young sixty!”

There’s a lesson here- I was so focused on how depressing it was to be so old, I forgot to focus on the joys and the memories of sixty wonderful, memorable years and all the associated blessings. It was an important lesson on Gratitude and I am very grateful that reinforcing and strengthening our understanding of important principles is a continuing part of Heavenly Father’s Plan, no matter the stage of life in which we find ourselves. I’m older and wiser now and I won’t soon forget!