Birthday Weekend

The last few days have had milestone birthdays in my family. On Friday, my grandmother celebrated 90 years of life. Yesterday, my mom celebrated her birthday as well.

My dad's family usually gets together for a combined Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration in late November or December. This year, the traditional gathering was delayed to last week in order to make it a birthday party.

Dad has three siblings, all of which have multiple children and grandchildren. Combined, that side of my family has 53 members and five living generations. Everyone lives within a few hours of our home town, but it is still a challenge to find a time when we can get together. Thankfully, everyone except 2-3 people were able to join.

Growing up, I could easily tell you who each of my cousins were and what they did. As the decades have passed, spouses have been added as well as kids. Only seeing them once a year in person, and occasionally on social media, I have a challenge remembering everyone and who belongs to whom.

Since we last got together in late 2024, three new babies have been added to the mix. Two of them are only a few months old, so they were passed around to many willing arms. The third, Lewis, is nearly 11 months old and quite active. He isn't walking quite yet, but gleefully toddles around while pushing a fire truck looking toy/chair.

Our venue was held at a local school where we had access to a gym. Several of my cousins, and especially their kids, used the area for various activities. Lewis happily pushed his truck all around the area while older kids tried to dodge him. I look for any excuse to play with kids, so I somewhat helped his mom by following along side and providing a bit of a shield. At one point, I stopped while Lewis kept going and he soon looked back at me like, "Aren't you coming?"

This was also the first time I've really had open space to drive my chair. In an attempt to race a few of my other cousin's kids, I got to use top speed at full throttle. My last two chairs topped out around 6 MPH, and I was disappointed to see I can now only achieve 3.7. The early grade school kids were very easily faster than me.

Subsequent emails have determined my chair should go up to 6 MPH, as long as my seat is completely upright. I attempted testing again in a parking lot with the same results. Therefore, I'll be going back for adjustments on the electronics, again.

Grandma has the challenges many face after nine decades of life. While she may not fully remember the party, or all our names, it was still an enjoyable time for her and everyone else. We are not guaranteed another day, or year, in this life and should celebrate each birthday with thanksgiving. Let us take each day as a thankful response to serve God and remember all we have been given.