My wonderful mother has never (in my lifetime) had a birthday party so I decided that for her 60th Birthday, she deserved something BIG! So my siblings and I got together and pitched in to throw the most awesome birthday/tea party EVER!We held it at the Beehive Tea Room in downtown Salt Lake City and were lucky enough to reserve the entire tea room for our party. Mom and my aunts walked in the Race for the Cure that morning (something my mom and I have been doing together since 1998 and she was so disappointed to hear I couldn't join them this year), and they brought her to the tea room for the surprise.
I set up a table with her photo and a photo book I made of her life for people to write personal messages to Mom as they entered. Then each table was set with a photo of Mom and there was a TV set up playing a DVD I put together of her life so far. The place looked great and she was so elated when she arrived and saw that all this was in celebration of her! There was hardly a dry eye in the place!
Family members (Aimee & my niece Emily even flew in from Oklahoma) and friends (some she hadn't seen in 30 years) came to celebrate the inspiring life of my Mom. We ate scones, brownies and fresh strawberries and everyone had tea or Italian sodas. Then Aimee treated us all to a toast to Mom and if folks weren't crying before it, they were definitely crying after! Her toast was amazing and full of thanks to Mom for being such a wonderful mother and friend. It was such a special moment!
Then Melissa brought a beautiful cake and we pretended to have Mom blow out the candles as we all sang "Happy Birthday!" to her. She was so happy and surprised and she told me that she felt like "queen for the day". Which in my mind is truly what she deserves! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother.
She has been my rock, my sounding board, my support, my deep-thinking companion for my entire life. There isn't a special moment she hasn't been there for, and for every sad moment, she's been there to dust me off and get me back on my feet again. And as a Grand-Mother, she is continuing her legacy by loving and encouraging and caring for her grand-kids. (My boys go through withdrawls when they don't see her for a week!). I feel like I'm a strong woman and I know it's because of the strong woman who raised me to think, feel and love! I love you Mom! Happy Birthday!
And thank you to everyone who helped me put this together by offering advice, ideas, photos, money or just plain encouragement! It was worth every bit of time and money that we put in to it!
2 comments:
You are so thoughtful. My mom said she had a great time and I am quite sure your mom appreciated the time and effort so much. You and Aimee and Melissa look so good in that last picture.
This was such a special day to be apart of! Thanks for inviting us!
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