The "BIG 80" Milestone Birthday

 

I know I'm very strange, but...I do wear this one as a Badge of Honor.

The actual day was this past Friday the 13th, and because I post an image on Shutterchance almost every Friday

of the year, this is the one I chose from our just-recently-ended Switzerland trip (next post, eventually),

where we saw these speed-limit signs everywhere.  It made sense to grab one for the occasion!

As I said on Shutterchance, "They say age is just a number, but 80 right now feels extra special because today is my 11th "Friday the 13th" birthday since 1945.  How many people can say that??!!"

That afternoon, Friday the 13th, at our senior-living's Happy Hour, I brought Swiss treats for everyone:

A nice selection of mixed-luxury cookies and Toblerone chocolates!

I took the same treats to Jeroen and Marissa's on Saturday morning, for a birthday koffie break, where both kids (Sem and Hailey) and Jaap, Astrid's ex, were also present.  

Marissa's new baby, due July 1, looks like she's ready to pop out any minute now, which is why we were there instead of our apartment.  (BTW, in case you forgot, it's a Dutch custom for the birthday person to supply the goodies for guests.)

That afternoon, Saturday (yesterday!), was the BIG BIRTHDAY HOERA (hooray) with our dear friends Jeannette and Femke, who live just a wee 5-10 minutes' walk from our apartment.  Seven hours of pure enjoyment!

OMG!  Even Astrid was in on some of the decorations, totally unbeknownst to me.

I actually "commissioned" Femke for the birthday meal they gifted me, telling her what I wanted from

 all the things they have fed us over the last 15 years:  her green salad (to which she added green asparagus!),

roasted potatoes, and spareribs.  I even asked for koffie ice cream, which was a first for Femke, who nailed it.

She also added the fabulous appetizer of salmon and tuna crackers, topped with sea grass.

The cake, btw, which we ate first, had a marzipan frosting of a photo

of me gnawing on a beef rib from another occasion with them.

How fun is that!  

So, yes, after 2 days of celebrating a milestone, I feel more than adequately feted!  Knowing that no day/year is guaranteed to any one of us, I'm more than grateful for the years I have had, and do pray to honor them by a life well-lived.  I've had a life "surprised by joy," and want to make sure I give at least some of that Joy back!