The Longeneckers think birthdays ending in 5 or 0 are special. At a Longenecker family gathering in Florida in 2003, we celebrated the birthday of my brother Mark, who turned the big 5-0.
And also of my Aunt Ruthie who celebrated her 85th birthday at our house at the same time.
This month on October 4th, Ruthie reached her 98th birthday. That called for two celebrations: one among residents of the home where she receives nursing care and the other with her family at the same facility.
What she said at the first celebration:
It came suddenly and it left the same way . . .
What happened at the second:
The preliminaries: Tao from Viet Nam, one whom Aunt Ruthie sheltered as a young woman, beautifies the table with an autumn bouquet. Her children think of Ruthie as their grandmother.
Then – family meal with dessert . . .
No 5’s or 0’s appeared on the birthday cake in front of her, but there was a huge number 9 in the calculation – not 98 candles, but close!
She had her drowsy moments during the party, but slowly awakening once, she looked around the table and observed, “It can’t be denied that women outnumber the men here.”
My sisters Janice and Jean, two grandnieces, and a nephew
She didn’t have enough wind to blow out the two candles at first. Neither did I. We all sent her good wishes after 4-5 puffs, extinguishing the two flames.
Special Report: Ruthie Reaction
I promised to give you a postscript to my post Aunt Ruthie Longenecker: Her Life in Pictures.
Earlier in the week, Ruthie with her perky pony tail leaned in, looked intently at my computer screen with eyes wide open.
When we came to the vintage photo of the 1930s family reunion, she began identifying a few relatives she remembered – her aunts, uncles, her father, her mother (“My, she was thinner then, if you know what I mean,” she said with a wry smile, viewing her mother.) Her left hand moved steadily if quavery across the family photo – speaking names of relatives long dead: “Grandma Martin, Grandpa Sam, Uncle Frank, Uncle Joe, Mattie, Bertha, oh, and my brother Ray.” Long pauses often punctuated the name call.
I was thrilled to observe the foggy memory mists lifting and blowing away for a few precious minutes . . .
Remember my promise on the October 5 post? I did show her the post of her life in pictures, including your comments.
They made her smile, smile real big!
“Thank you,” she said.
Madeleine L’Engle’s birthday sentiment:
The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.
Given a choice, what age would you choose among the ages you’ve been?
Plain and Fancy 