77th Birthday - Sensible, Serene, Sweet

My birthday was never a big deal to me when I was growing up. 

I was the eldest, my sis came next, then my brother. My sis, being the middle child, always felt unwanted for some odd reason, and was always insecure. My brother and I grew up always knowing that Mom would include my sis in our celebrations, somehow, so she wouldn't feel left out. My brother and I never even gave it a second thought. We kids always loved each other (when we weren't arguing, of course). And of course we all were covered on Christmas (poor as it sometimes was) and with our little Easter baskets.

Until I hit 75, the same year I lost my live-in middle-aged "nephew" Frank, it was that way.

But that year, several months after his passing, I discovered fast-food and restaurant "birthday freebies." Foodie that I am, I suddenly fell in love with my birthday!

This morning, for example, I hit Denny's. On your birthday, with nothing more than your photo ID, you can go there any time of day or night and order a Build-Your-Own-Slam, on them. Now, how great is that? This time, I chose eggs scrambled, 4 sausage links (instead of 2 sausage and 2 bacon), and their 2 really big pancakes. I ate the eggs, 2 sausages and 1/2 a pancake there, and brought the rest home. I did indulge and pay for their super-delicious coffee and had 2 cups.

And that is just the beginning of a foodie-indulgent week - I had to make a chart to track the expiration dates. I'll try to post it tomorrow.

For those who are online, I will also make a list of which places to contact and what you get.

And this morning, the charity crafter who has been with us longest brought me a whole bunch of little one-or-two-bite red velvet cupcakes topped with a delicious blob of icing!

Then there were all those Facebook birthday wishes - a ton of them. And a few really great email cards...

Now, how can this not have been a great birthday?