Tomorrow I will be 86 years old

[Hekate]

42. You might look at it another way & consider that you are denying your family of this occasion to gather...

Last edited Thu Sep 18, 2025, 03:15 PM - Edit history (1)

You might look at it another way & consider that you are denying your family of this occasion to gather...
I’ll be 78 in a few weeks and am not doing so great myself — but I remember how much it hurt when I’d call my mother in her 70s (long distance) to say something chipper like, “Happy birthday! I bet you’re getting all kinds of calls! “ and she would snarl at me.

On a quite-related note, whenever I read a small death notice in the paper that instructs the friends of the deceased that no gathering of any kind will be held because their late friend didn’t believe in such meaningless fripperies, I recall another thing my mom said, which is: “Funerals are for the living. “ And she was quite right about that: humans have a need to gather.

So, personally, my resolution this year is to be kind to my husband, and thank him for the handmade card on our breakfast table. Also to be pleasant to anyone in my scattered, small, and diminished family who remembers to call, give a big hug to my SIL who remembers with cake, and well, that’s about it.

May there be good memories that come into your thoughts, and may you have a happy (or at least adequate! ) birthday after all. 🎂🎂🎂