Happy 87th Birthday!

While on my book tour, I celebrated another birthday and was lucky enough to spend it with family and friends. Following Friday night’s signing, we had a small family party at my dad’s house, and since it was nearing the eleventh hour, we were all in rare form–well, not rare for Blackadars, I guess.

Well, there was cake. There were presents. And there was this card–which my dad picked out himself. It was a lovely card with flowers and a very sweet sentiment, and up in the right hand corner, it had a very small dial-a-birthday window. The year was set on “87,” and even though my father is known to present us with birthday anachronisms, he actually did not notice the very small window. This, of course, made the joke even funnier.

Needless to say, many jokes were told about my age…and the laughter followed us to our next destination on Saturday night: my older brother’s house. My brother is good at many things–but keeping secrets is not one of them.  He asked me to go to the store with him, and while we were picking up some prosciutto from the deli, he leans over and says, “We were here earlier…to get your cake.” He smiles in a sly, sinister fashion. “I think you’ll like what they wrote on it.” It took willpower that he didn’t have to keep from telling me. And before we left the store, my brother went to find a Mother’s Day card for his wife–you know one that played “Who Let the Dog’s Out” or some other “appropriate” tune. Well, we found lots of nice ones: “Wind Beneath my Wings” and “You’re Still the One.”  He settled on “Ladies Night,” and after several plays, laughter, and Blackadar shuffles in the card aisle, we left the store.

That night, after a scrumptious meal, my brother carried the cake to me. His smile said it all, and I read the top: “Happy 87th Birthday!” I laughed again and looked around the room at both of our families together, and I knew this was one birthday that I would never forget…

…And someday, if I’m lucky enough, I’ll turn 87 (for real), and on that day, I’ll look up to heaven and say, “Thanks for a great birthday, Dad!”

I love my family: They have given me enough memories to provide me with a lifetime of laughter. 🙂