Mum’s birthday, 2002.

Mum was staying with us for the weekend, and we’d promised to take her out for a Kentucky.
As she was getting changed, we heard her curse, so tapped on her door and asked what was wrong. She said the zipper had broken on her ‘best’ trousers, so we came to the rescue with a safety pin.

We set off and she was a little dismayed when we pulled into Frankie and Benny’s car park with the suggestion that we tried that for a change as it was, after all, a special occasion.
When we entered the restaurant, everyone stood up to applaud and sing Happy Birthday.

Unknown to her, we’d booked a table and invited as many family members as wanted to come to join us in celebrating her 80^th birthday.

There were four generations seated at a long table reaching from one end of the restaurant to the other and all of the other customers joined in.
Mum went very pink, and whispered to Hubby that there was a pin in her trousers!

We had a lovely meal, everyone ordering (and paying for) what they wanted, though we paid for Mum. There was plenty of laughter and reminiscing, and just one embarrassing moment with my niece, whose attire was somewhat, shall we say, revealing and undesirable for the occasion, yelling across the room at her seven year old daughter who was playing up. The other 4 great grandchildren were perfectly behaved.

From there, we went to my sister’s house in convoy, where there was a finger buffet laid on and a large birthday cake which we had smuggled in when we collected Mum on Friday.
A colleague at work had made it for me as she did sugarcraft, and had decorated it with the most beautiful tiny blue forgetmenots and pink rosebuds.
‘Happy 80^th Mum’ was piped in blue on the top.

Mum had no idea anything was planned and was totally overwhelmed.
The last family celebration had been their 45^th wedding anniversary when we organised a meal in a Chinese Restaurant, and were joined by my sister, brother-in-law, Bro and sister-in-law. Other Brother and Number 2 Wife had ‘something else on’.

We were 250 odd miles away, but I had hoped that something would have been arranged for Mum’s 90^th birthday. We had bought her a special gift and taken it down ten days before rather than rely on the post (it was actually my birthday that day, but no-one remembered).
As it was, her birthday was marked by a cake and cards at the Ladies Group she belonged to at the time. She sent me a photo of her and the Chairwoman, but I had to return it so we took a copy.

Hubby and I have never been what I’d call ‘party people’ for ourselves, but my sister celebrated her 40^th, 50^th and 60^th with a big do for herself.
Guess she got the party gene and I got the wallflower syndrome.
I found this on Google images, which made me smile.