This last week was my great uncle’s 100th birthday.  In addition to the family party that nearly drove my mom off the edge, the children’s hospital where he volunteers each week threw him a semi-surprise party.  They had a huge cake and 100 balloons and 100 Beanie Babies and a tub of 100 toys, all to give away to the kids in his honor.

It was really sweet and you could tell that all the staff there just loves him.  They even picked him up from his house and dropped him off each week before he figured out the bus system.  But they had to drop him off a few houses away because his ex-wife, who he still lives with, would get really jealous and make him miserable if she saw a couple of “young” women (as in late 40’s) hugging him goodbye.

A Channel 8 News man was there and he interviewed my great uncle briefly, so we got to see a little excerpt on the local news that evening.  I tried to get a few pictures of Little Button with him, but she was far too interested in the “CAKE!” and “COOKIES!” and “PUNCH!” and “CANDY!” and “TOYS!”  She operated on a total sugar high for a while and then crashed just as we were leaving.

And then she got her finger pinched pretty hard in the stroller on the way out, which led to a total freak-out session for my mom.

But that’s a story for another post.  My mom can flip out with the best of them…though I will give her kudos this time for not screaming and jumping up and down and drawing the attention of every onlooker within a 5-mile radius.  She displayed an unusual amount of self restraint, unlike the time a great dane attacked our dog and I happened to be standing within the danger radius when she started screaming and flailing.  I think I still have a dent in my head from that casualty.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Because We're Related, Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.