Why do people celebrate a landmark birthday, like an 80th birthday? Because they can! Actually there is a special reason for celebrating a landmark birthday, even if I did it 6 months early:
Gratitude
I have several dear friends and relatives who did not reach this milestone, including my dear mother, who died at age 72, a special needs brother at 44, and a fiancé who died two days before he turned 50. So Yeah! I’m happy to be turning 80 soon.
People born in 1900 had a life expectancy of 47. Gulp! Today, the average life expectancy for woman celebrating her 80th birthday in the U.S. is 90.1 years. Sweet baby Jesus! Not to be greedy, but I want to add at least another ten years to that. I’ve been blessed with a good gene pool so fingers crossed. I am well aware that many are not blessed with such good health at this age. For that I am extremely grateful.
Celebrating with a dream trip
For many years I had been wanting to take my family on an Alaskan Cruise but the price scared me off. Plus, my kids kept reproducing! My son Adam, who is my financial advisor, reminded me that my traveling years may be coming to a close soon so I should step up the spending pace. Leave it to a kid to always remind you how old you are. He was right. I’ve been a prodigious saver and have always lived below my income. So I held my breath, pulled the plug,and booked it! The trip included my partner Don, my three kids and their spouses, nine grandchildren and 3 step grandchildren, ages 10 to 28. Only one grandchild couldn’t make it because he started his doctoral program in Physical Therapy two weeks before we sailed.
Picking a date for 20 people
When I started almost a year ahead of time to get input from my kids about dates, it didn’t take me long to realize this was going to be a nightmare. The conflicts were many: four adult grandkids were employed; two were in college, one had a summer internship, one was starting grad school, one was living abroad, HS grandkids had sport practices, etc. The best decision I made from the start was to tell my three children to get together and decide on a date. I was good for anytime.
They decided on the June 16 sailing date which was coincidentally 6 months exactly before my actual birthday. I had preferred August because I thought it would be a bit warmer. As it turned out, it was probably the best weather Alaska had all summer. We packed clothing for the 40s and 50s and were rewarded with 60s, 70s and sunshine! It rained once and that was the day at sea. Everywhere we went the natives said “We never get weather like this! ” Later in the summer devastating landslides hit two ports of call along with very rainy weather. Apparently the weather gods were with us and we hit the magic window.
A travel agent is a Must!
A friend I had met in Ethiopia offered to be my travel agent for this trip. Indispensable! With three different families switching rooms around we were no doubt a nightmare group to accommodate. Handling this group became a nightmare client for her because we made so many changes. She booked our rooms, reserved special dining space, arranged our air fare though the cruise line, (Princess) and saw that we all had staterooms in the same area of the ship. Furthermore, she even went online on Black Friday and found a better fare for us. The agent saved me many headaches….and $5,000. How ’bout dem apples?
The T Shirt
Since two in the group are graphic designers, they surprised me with a spectacular T shirt designed with the theme of my 80th birthday and the cruise. We wore it the first day of the cruise. It made for a great family photo.
My nickname is Grandma Queen, hence the crown. All 20 names are listed on the back including the grandson who couldn’t go. I want to be buried in this shirt! (click for closer view)
The only rules I had on the cruise were that everyone had to be present for dinner and if I saw anyone on their phone I was deleting their wifi package. We had two tables in the dining room: one for the 6 parents plus Don and me, the other for the grandkids….ages 10 thru 28. They all had a great time, aided not in a small way by the upgraded drink package. Since there were 7 grandkids over 21 I did warn them that if they fall over board, the screams cannot be heard. Now that I think of it, our favorite spot was the Aft Bar so we were all taking advantage of the 15 drinks a day package.
Me: “Who the hell can drink 15 drinks a day?’
Daughter Gina: “Mom, you’re such an amateur!”
There were so many great images that all of us took on the cruise and shore excursions. I am posting a few: (click for closer view)
My actual 80th birthday is quickly approaching. Originally I thought I wanted a flippin parade. But I have changed my mind. I want to celebrate this landmark birthday with this wonderful, diverse group that is my family. The gratitude for the love I feel when we are all together is the best reason to celebrate.
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