May 3, 2021 – “Most Memorable Birthday(s)!” I Remember When…
I don’t have ONE favorite birthday celebration. After 91 birthdays, the many of memories pile up and blend together into a mountain of Happiness. Our family had private birthday celebrations highlighted by a birthday cake, blowing out candles and home-made ice cream. As my two brothers, Jim and Gene came along when I was one year old and two years old.
When Gene was a year old, Mother placed the cake before him. He seemed unable to aim his breath toward the candle. Finally, Mother asked me to blow out his birthday candle. Gene’s birthday came the day before mine. That is when I began enjoying birthdays. Not everyone gets to blow out birthday candles two days in one year! 1932 was a great year – four candles in one year.
Oh, Mother’s birthday, July 4th, 1907 impressed me. I had a firecracker of a Momma! 
A picnic, family style was her way of celebrating. I found a message from my Grandmother to my Mom, reminding her that she was born on a holiday, and the telephone operator was off duty. Grandma was not able to ring the phone for all to answer in the area and announce her birth until the next day.
When I reached the age of twelve, Mother decided I should have a birthday party with my friends. She labored for a long-time planning and preparing the refreshments. My friends from church and school were invited. The gifts were given, and then we played games, including ‘pin the tail on the donkey’.
The refreshments she worked most on the sandwich slices. She baked a loaf of bread and sliced it longwise and made 3 flavors of sandwich filling between the slices. When she sliced it the regular way, there were three ribbons of flavor in each slice.
When being sixteen was a reality, I don’t remember blowing out sixteen candles. That wasn’t as important as being old enough to drive a car, wear Tangee lipstick and go on dates. I remember being elated and the freedom that was soon be a reality.
In my twenties, I learned to provide celebrations for others’ birthdays. While traveling to other towns to lead singing in evangelistic meetings in various churches. That is when I met Ed, my husband for sixty-six years. I learned he liked apple pie. I baked apple pie for Ed for all of the sixty-six years. As the children came along, we celebrated with blowing out candles on a birthday cake, and ice cream, and singing Happy Birthday.
Two of our sons were born on the same date, a year apart. To save time, I made one cake for both my sons. One day, my two sons came to me, and began,” Mom…” Then they made a serious request. “Could we have two birthday cakes?”
From then on, until they left home, I baked a chocolate cake with fudge frosting and a white cake with coconut frosting for my boys.
The years passed until suddenly I was eighty years old. The ladies at church decided I needed a party, at Rogers Christian Church Fellowship Hall, in Arkansas, in 2009.
Things began changing, and we needed to move in 2012 to be near our son, Tim. He and his family decided I needed a birthday part at our new church home in Illinois. Such fun to see friends and visit with them…in 2019, a year after
The 91st birthday celebration included a yard decoration for the day.
Next month is the 92nd birthday and my grandson-in-law asked me how I wanted to celebrate. I thought a nap would be perfect to mark the next birthday.
What have I learned in almost ninety-two years? The surest thing in life and death is faith and trust in Jesus.
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6:11-12.