Sixty.

Phew, what a birthday.

You’re only 60 once, so why not blow it out for weeks. That’s exactly what I did.

Two dear friends from church treated me to a big ol’ steak dinner. Yeah, Ruth’s Chris, no less!

A girlfriend had three of us at her home for a lovely dinner and lots of wine. Another just showed up with a HUGE bouquet of flowers and Starbucks the morning of my birthday. Oh! And a lovely night at the wine bar.

With leopard trim, of course!

There’s more. I was showered with all sorts of gifts I didn’t deserve. My Paris buddies surprised me with new luggage (they were horrified at what I had brought). I got some great fuzzy slippers, new towels and two VERY COOL books on graffiti. Imagine that!

And the ‘big day’ was just as I’d wanted . . . a somewhat quiet day with my family. We had lunch at a meat-n-three, the best kinda cooking you can get south of the Mason-Dixon. And for dessert, my daughter made me some snicker-doodles, my very favorite cookies on earth.

It was perfect.

But I gotta tell ya, the biggest surprise came when my email and Facebook accounts got hijacked.

My crafty sisterwho, by the way, you can never trust – scoured my Facebook and email accounts for names of old friends from as far back as grammar school. She dug deep to find college friends whose addresses I had lost. High school friends and long-lost work buddies. She told everyone to spread the word: “60 cards for her 60th!”

I got cards and letters from sorority sisters who I’d not heard from in decades. A work buddy who now lives in California, cousins spread across the country, wonderful neighbors . . .

Nothing. Nothing could have made my day more perfect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~

The biggest smile came from the card my ‘very prah-per’ mother sent. On the front was an illustration of a monkey, decked out in full hippie attire. It read:

“Happy 60th Birthday. Take a trip to celebrate your big day.

DesignerGreetings.com

Inside: “Of course, a trip in your sixties is different than a trip in the THE 60s!”

Tell me I don’t have one cool mom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~


But my favorite card came as no surprise. I get one every year.

You see, Jenny Humphreys, or “Miss Sunshine” as she’s known around our church, is confined to a wheelchair with very limited mobility. Armed with her computer, she designs a card, each different, each specially made, for every person in our church.


Jenny, you are amazing. You made my day.

12 Comments
  • Jane Gassner
    Posted at 01:28h, 12 November

    Happy. Birthday! Welcome to the decade….it was getting sorta lonely here, what with all the 50-plusers suddenly having so much to say. I’m glad for the company.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 07:04h, 12 November

      We’re smarter than those 50-year-olds. Just remember that.

  • Mary Priddy (@operation_paris)
    Posted at 06:27h, 12 November

    What a wonderful birthday! I love the “60 cards for your 60th”. Your sister is brilliant!

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 07:14h, 12 November

      Oh, Mary, I just read your blog! You’ve been bitten by the Paris bug, too! Folks, here is her link: http://operationparis.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html You’re smart to learn the language, ’cause one day, when you live in the fabulous city . . .

    • Michele Stapleton
      Posted at 13:53h, 13 November

      The photo that you use for your blog-I’ve been using the very same photo as the desktop photo on my Mac Pro since Lisa and I went to Paris in May of 2010. I love that photo, and on our trip to Paris this past September I made a point of finding the spot where it was taken.

  • lisaweldon
    Posted at 07:04h, 12 November

    She is brilliant. I think I’ll keep her.

  • Constance
    Posted at 09:23h, 12 November

    Happy birthday my sweet friend! You be a day-tripper….one way ticket, ya….:) xoxo

  • Sharon Christopher
    Posted at 09:56h, 12 November

    Lisa-Happy Belated “60th”, I too have reached that magically age and it is a real trip, to think we made it, survived it and still have the capacity for having a great time and enjoying life as we go, Love to you, my friend, Sharon McGlamry Christopher

  • Sheila Witherington
    Posted at 10:56h, 12 November

    Happy birthday. It gets even better when you are 61. Keep the bags packed.

  • debvee60
    Posted at 15:49h, 12 November

    Take a little trip, take a little trip…take a little trip with me-ee. 🙂

  • The Itty Bitty Boomer
    Posted at 11:13h, 13 December

    Well, a belated 60th birthday from one Scorpio to another … we ARE the best!
    itty bitty …

  • Lisa Stapleton Weldon
    Posted at 16:47h, 13 December

    And to you as well . . . Happy belated birthday!