feasting ~ 100 at last…

We have been waiting for this day for quite a while, planning and plotting and at last the day finally came and when mum woke up on Monday morning she was 100…….. a whole century of living and I cannot imagine how that feels.

On Sunday, the day before, the family (the ones she hasn’t managed to outlive) gathered together for a celebration of mum’s special birthday. I had organised a private room at the Keys in Yarm near to where mum lives for a two course Sunday lunch. The organiser at the venue, Kimberley, couldn’t have been more helpful; the tables were beautifully decorated with flowers and candles – we just added banners, balloons and scattered lots of photos of mum’s life around.

My sister made the cakes, they were wonderful. One had a lovely scene of mum when she was in the Women’s Land Army during the war (a job that she was always very proud of and for which she has a badge) and the other she decorated with flowers. All the flowers and decorations on the cake were handmade by her and her little team (husband, daughter and friend) and I know they were up until the early hours getting them finished.

I made a place card for each of our guests using whatever old photos I could find of them in their younger days, so each person had to find their seat by recognising their own photo. It became a great talking point too with a lot of memories being shared.

It was all a big surprise for my mum, but a very welcome one. I think she struggled to grasp who all the family members were as we don’t see some of them very often, but as she keeps reminding us all now ‘I am 100’ so she is now officially allowed to have memory lapses. I didn’t like to point out that her memory has been ‘lapsing’ for quite a while now!!

It was a struggle to know what to buy her so we bought her a very large display clock for her bedside table that is specially designed for people with memory problems; it tells you if it is morning, afternoon or evening, (in the hope she will not keep ringing us in the early hours thinking it is the afternoon). We also made up a hamper of her favourite bits and pieces that everyone could add to.

The celebrations continued on the Monday, her actual birthday, at the retirement apartments where she lives. The residents had wanted to get together and put a little spread on for mum which was nice as her main carer could attend as a guest too.

So mum is completely wiped out now and will probably sleep away her days for the rest of this week!

Meanwhile, we have yet another celebration to turn our attention to as it is Master Freddies’s seventh birthday party on Sunday, but this time it will be mostly his little school friends attending this one.

Next Monday might see me lying down in a darkened room all partied out.