You're How Old??

One thing I was looking forward to this year was being able to celebrate my sister’s 50th birthday with her. Though it was a scheduled work day for us, Russ offered to stay behind and cover the shift while I drove to DE for an overnight visit. With her husband out of town, it was going to be just us girls! I made a quick stop at the dollar store near her house to pick up one of those “over the hill” helium balloons to attach to her present. The only option was “You’re How Old?” and I quickly tied it to the gift bag. Within a few minutes I arrived at her place, and as I grabbed my luggage and the gift bag from the car, the balloon suddenly came loose from its ribbon and went floating off into the heavens! I was so bummed…that was the 50th item!

Now I guess I should briefly explain that statement. On my 50th birthday we were living in Baton Rouge, and a box arrived from my sister. In it were 50 individual items…some silly, some lovely, some yummy, some reminders of my youth, and the most precious…a ruby ring that had been my mom’s. I had decided to do something similar for Julie, and collecting 50 items is not as easy as you might think!

After the initial greetings, we left everything in the bedroom and headed out for lunch and to run some errands. Since one of those was at the dollar store, I decided to let them know that the balloon I had just purchased had not been tied well enough. As it turns out, they come pre-strung so it was a manufacturer defect, and the manager gave us a new one!

Back at her house it was time to open gifts. The first item I had her open was something that meant a lot to both of us. This owl picture had been embroidered by our grandmother and had hung in our mom’s place until she died. It came to live with me but had been in storage since we hit the road. After we emptied our storage unit last year, I had been concerned that it would get damaged as we had nowhere to hang it in the RV and decided to make it one of the 50 items.










Once everything was opened, I had one more surprise for her. About a month earlier I had contacted several people via e-mail asking if they’d like to join in the fun of celebrating Julie’s 50th birthday by mailing a card for her to my attention at the campground, and then I’d deliver it to her on the big day. I was able to surprise her with 12 cards plus a special package from her friend, Nancy (some of which are seen in the photo at right). Thanks to all who participated in the fun!

It was time to get ready for dinner and head over to Applebee’s because Julie knew she wanted to start with one of their “Perfect Margaritas”…mmmm! It was Trivia Night, and while we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, we had fun trying to answer the questions between ourselves even though we hadn’t signed up to win any prizes. We ordered the yummy dessert shooters, and our fantastic server, Rachel, arrived with a little something extra. Since there weren’t enough other servers available to sing their typical birthday song, she had spelled out Happy Birthday in chocolate on a plate with Julie’s shooter, and didn’t charge us for either of our desserts! Our plans to go dancing were scrapped as we were both tired after a long day so we returned to her place to just hang and relax.

I left around noon the next day but not before we enjoyed some breakfast at IHOP and a leisurely drive down Route 1. We’re both so happy I was able to be there and share in her special day.