Celebration 75!

My 75th birthday started off with a bang, driving to Hendersonville, Tennessee, for lunch with my dad’s cousin, Judy, who is only three months younger than I am. We had a delightful lunch at Cafe Rakka, a great Mediterranean restaurant.

Then to Nashville to meet our granddaughter, Kinley, a freshman at Lipscomb University, for the afternoon and treats. We went to Monell’s for dinner with Kinley, my brother John and his wife Liz, and three dear cousins. The food was delicious and we enjoyed the evening together. (I want to post pictures, but my blog hosting service no longer accepts pictures. Frustrating! Check Facebook.) We spent the night with John and Liz in Hendersonville.

The next morning, we went to church at Park Place Retirement Community, where Steve spoke on “The Best is Yet to Be” and John led singing. Then we picked up barbecue at Center Point Barbecue in Hendersonville. Such good food! Take a look at the menu.  I added turnip greens because I love them, and that was a big hit with our guests.

And where were we? At the home of my aunt and uncle, Deba and Tommy Gammons, in Gallatin, Tennessee. I’d invited all my aunts and uncles–and any cousins who wanted to come–to join us for the celebration. All EIGHT of my maternal aunts and uncles came. I was thrilled! I have never known anyone to celebrate a 75th birthday with eight living and thriving aunts and uncles. The ones who have known me my whole life ranged in age from 98 to 82, plus one who joined the family later and is only 67. Only one used a walker and none used canes. We sat around Aunt Deba’s large dining table and enjoyed conversation about the old days, sharing memories.

Ten cousins were there, too! We enjoyed a lovely cake from Cincinnati’s Bonbonerie Bakery that Steve had brought. Check that website link and look at the French Strawberry Torte. Heavenly as well as beautiful! As Uncle Tommy said, “This is not a Kroger cake!”

Kinley served the ice cream to go with it and helped all around. I received delightful cards and comments and several positive comments about my book, Spillin the Beans. I was surprised at how many of them had actually read it, especially the cousins.

Annelle, daughter of my Aunt Juanita, brought me some artifacts her mother had saved–invitations to various weddings, newspaper clippings, etc. Most notable was a napkin from our wedding! Yep, there it was: Steve and Lanita, August 24, 1965. Now that’s been around a while!

Speaking of weddings, Aunt Bettie Ruth and Uncle L.D., the ones seated in the picture, were celebrating their 74th anniversary. They were married March 1, 1946, and my actual birthday is today, March 3. We just celebrated a couple of days early to keep it on a weekend, and that happened to be their anniversary. I’ve made it clear to Steve that I expect for us to be married at least that long!

An encouraging thing to me is how sharp everyone is. Getting up and down may not be as easy as it once was, but speaking up and knowing what’s going on is just as sharply honed as ever. It was a delight to be with all these dear relatives, and I appreciated so very much their willingness to be there. It reminded me of our old Christmas gatherings with the Ralphs, except that as they arrived, instead of “Merry Christmas!” they greeted me with “Happy birthday!”

Uncle Wallace said I was lucky to have “the Ralph genes” since they live so long. I reminded him that on my father’s side of the family, my grandmother lived to be 97 and my grandfather just a few days short of 99. So I do have great genes.

And it’s not over. Today we had a lovely lunch with friends and tonight we’ll all go to Melt Revival for dinner. One of the chefs/owners is Shannon Blalack, whom we’ve known since she was a child. I am excited to get to go to her restaurant with our family.

I am truly blessed to live this long, feel this good, and have such a loving extended family as well as my devoted husband, wonderful children, and loving grandchildren!

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. Deuteronomy 32:7