My daughter Karen posted this photo on Face Book.
I had not seen it before and it brought tears.
This is after she and Mark had walked Madeleine down the aisle and were about to hand her off to Stefan.

You ask?
Who is this weird character and why is Judy with him?

I've known him since he was 10.  A neighbor and classmate of Karen's.  A kid that worked on the farm for my Daddy and played 4-H softball for him.

Character?  He certainly is!  You should see some of the stuff he posts on Face Book.  

Rabidly political?  Oh my!

Hard, crude language?  It would burn your ears and make your eyes water.

In reality?  Sweet.  Caring.  Thoughtful.  Very tender.

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It had been about 4 years since I've seen Harold, or Hal as he likes to be called.  He came for a visit back then.

He messaged me Monday, said he would be up in Howell and wanted to know if he could take me out to lunch for my birthday.

"Sure". I said.

"I'll pick you up at one".

"Two would be better."

"Okay.  See ya at two."

So unlike me to be so spontaneous.

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He arrived in his Mustang convertible, offered me a hat, which I declined and off we went.

A restaurant in Howell that specializes in steak and seafood.  Classy place.  Was I a bit embarrassed to walk in with him?  Not a bit.  He is quirky and today--quirky is cool.

He said to order whatever I wanted, so I did.  He retired from Dow Chemical Corporation at age 55, lives alone, has lots of moola--"live it up", he said.

I had French Onion soup, giant shrimp cocktail and a Maine lobster tail.  It was superb!.  He had raw steak 2 inches thick.

We talked--for 2 hours--politics, religion, the old days.  Memories he had of my Daddy and Karen and the other kids in their class, which of course I know.

Back in the convertible and home.

He doesn't talk rough, around me.  He is very respectful, around me.  He continually made me laugh.

I asked him if he was going to their class reunion--40 years.  He said, "Sure."  I told him I'd see him there.....because I had already been invited to attend by the other "kids" in his class.  They were and still are, my favorite class of all my kids.

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What a great day.

We should start referring to age
as "levels".
Being LVL 80 sounds way more awesome and wise, than just being old.
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Karen was playing '50's music in the background and apparently I decided to get up and dance.

Maddie had decorated my birthday cake.  It had a "4" between two goal-post candles, which meant "4 Score".  
MOM was made with blueberries and if you turned it around, it spelled, "WOW".

Birthday tradition.  Pammie paints my toenails.  She hates it.  It makes me feel pampered, so she does it because.....I'm the Momma.

Two years ago.

Well, it's official.

I have completed 80 years of life.

It feels weird.  You'd be surprised how differently 80 feels from 79--which I was on Thursday.  When someone asks how old I am, when told 79, they just kept on, but when told 80, it's like now they view me as elderly.  A lot of "youngers" view the elderly as slow, falling down, memory loss, in the way, sort of humans they have to put up with.

I don't understand at all how I got to be this old, this quick.  There seems to be no definition of how 80 year old's are suppose to think or act.  I don't feel 80 in my mind.  I just don't quite know what I am supposed to do now.  

My face isn't full of wrinkles.  I don't have dentures.  I don't use a cane or a walker.  I am still quite straight and tall and not hunched half over with Arthritis.  I don't take naps and I'm not Lactose or Gluten intolerant.  I don't wear Depends, I still eat spicy food and I go to bed at midnight not 9:00pm.  I drink way too much caffeine and puff on my nicotine vapor pen.

People say, "Age is only a number."

Yeah...it's a number.  A really high number.

It's a scary number.  I've seen it in neighbors, family and friends.  80 is when everything starts to go wrong.  Pacemakers and heart surgeries become the norm.  Old age diseases set in.  You start thinking about which nursing home or care facility you can afford.  You make sure all your important papers are up to date and you plan your funeral.

It happens so quickly.  You feel great one day and the next you have taken a fall and your internal organs are bleeding.  You get the news of a terminal disease.  The next thing you know, you're in Hospice.  The next few years are going to bring all of this.

I should be grateful, and I am, that I've lived this long.  So many of my friends have not had that privilege.  I miss them, but know in the back of my mind, I will soon join them.

Negative?  No, realistic.  Truths that I know are coming and wondering how I will handle it all.

I hope gracefully, but I very much doubt it.

I don't know who I am anymore.  

It is very disconcerting. 

I got an e-mail notice Friday that the Meijer store was having their 10 for $10.00, 11th one free sale.  I needed cat food and me food and of course, Diet Pepsi.

So up to the Meijer store, because you know how much I love to shop on a Saturday...NOT! With 457 of my closest friends joining me in the store.

NO 10 for $10.00 sale going on. Apparently I did not read my e-mail carefully enough--it started Sunday.

I had my list and my $40.00. I figured it would cost me $36.00.

Got up to the check-out, back is screaming in pain, thanks to my Meijer M-Perks I got $3.00 off my order. Grand total = $37.32.

Took the $10.00 left from Thursday's lunch, when I DIDN'T get gas, and put it in the tank. 3.80 gallons. Got me up to 1/2 tank again.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

I had a few tears of frustration as I started home and then had to wait in traffic for several families of Geese to cross Grand River Road.

That made me laugh!

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I did absolutely nothing this past weekend.  It rained most of both days, so it was a good excuse to stay in my recliner, watch the golf tournament and crochet.  I also made out a list of things I have to get done.  So far, at 10:40 on this Monday morning, I haven't done any of them.  LOL

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I have a new lawn mowing guy.  The guy I've had for 10 years is going to retire, so he is trying to get as much $$ as he can and is only mowing large lawns or people that want to be mowed every week.

I can only afford every other week--$20.00 a mow.  He suggested another guy so Jackie and Dar and I had him mow....and an awful job he did!  Still charging $20.00.  There were areas that were either too long or scalped.  Even if the grass was wet, he'd mow.  Two hours later, when the sun had dried up the grass, it would stand up and be 5-6 inches long again.

Two weeks ago, Dar hired on a guy that is a cousin to our mutual friend Sheila.  When he was done mowing, Dar's lawn looked like carpet!!!  So Jackie and I talked to him about doing ours.

He and I had a separate chat.  I told him I could only afford $40.00 a month, so I could only get mine done every other week.  He offered to do mine EVERY week for $10.00 a mow.  He said as long as he was doing Jackie's and Dar's across the street, it wouldn't be any problem to come over and do mine.  He does a great job!!

The three of us chipped in a little bit of money to get business cards made for him and Dar went around passing them out to people in this area of the park.  She also gave some to our original mowing guy, telling him that we didn't like the guy he suggested and when he is ready to retire, to give his customers the new guys business card.  

This new guy has said he will also help with other lawn maintenance chores--trimming hedges, weeding our gardens..whatever we need.  The other guys don't do that--they only mow.

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Well--I'd better get going on that "chore list".  Of course, there's always tomorrow.  LOL