A Special Day: 2nd Nov, 2017 – Chapter 3
Dear Ann,
I left my doctor feeling like I could fly to the next suburb where I had an appointment to meet my great friends, Cheryl & Sandra, but like a mature 88 year old should do, I drove very sedately to cafe, ‘Boulevard 7’, where we were to meet for my birthday lunch.
I had to fill in time drinking coffee until they appeared with birthday packages, cards & a bucket load of love. They also had an appointment that morning & had thought they would be at our appointed place but, for once, I was there ahead of them.
When they arrived everyone knew. There was no use me pretending I didn’t see or realise they had birthday bags as they came straight up to the table with hugs, kisses, birthday bags, cards &, as I said, a lot of love.
The small restaurant was packed & everyone knew the little old lady was having a birthday! (I don’t really think I look like a little old lady although my son did say on Sunday night “Gee you look old Mum”!!)
Well, anyway let me start again, I don’t feel that old! Anyway those in the restaurant couldn’t have cared less about all the excitement that was happening!
After sitting there on my own for fifteen minutes, all of a sudden I had friends kissing & hugging me, bags put in front of me & happy birthday greetings thrown my way. What a happy ‘to do’! We even took time to order from the menu before the ceremony began!
Dawn enjoys the scarf Sandra gave her.
I attacked Sandra’s parcel first & found the loveliest blue & white silk scarf with frilly edges, so very pretty & certainly my colour, which smartly got wrapped around my skinny neck & suddenly my skinny neck looked gorgeous. And so was the card:
Wishing the happiest of birthdays to the sweetest of people. No one deserves it more.
Then she wrote:
Happy Birthday Dear Dawn,
Hope you have an awesome day Darling & pray you have many more.
Love & Prayers, Sandra’.
More hugs & kisses. I do love my friends.
Then it was Cheryl’s gift to open & I found the sweetest little blue floral top with sparklies on the front. Fell in love with it but it was far too big.
My Cheryl is a ‘don’t let’s sit down & do it later’ type of person. No Sir. She was up & out with the lovely top to get the problem fixed.
She must have run down the street to the boutique as she was back in minutes – long before our lunch was served – with a completely different top for obvious reasons. I knew when I looked at it that it was going to be ‘just right’ like baby bear said about his porridge.
And it was. I put it on as soon as I arrived home. I genuinely liked it better than the first one as it is going to be foremost in use during the hot summer which we are expecting.
You would have realised by now that I love my gifts, but I really treasure the cards & it will be a sorry day when technology takes over & they are outmoded. I hope that doesn’t happen in my time.
The card was meaningful from Cheryl:
Happy Birthday.
Take a minute to think how many lives you’ve touched in ways that only you could.
Take time today to know how truly loved you are.
Then:
To my Darling Dawn on your birthday.
Have a wonderful day.
Best Wishes & Much Love from your friend always, Cheryl’.
After all that excitement we had our lunch & mine was absolutely delicious. I remembered from years ago that Boulevard 7 had some delicious bread toasted with bacon, pineapple & cheese melted on the top. It was as delicious as I had remembered.
Not only that, but Cheryl arranged for a huge piece of Passionfruit Sponge Cake with cream in the middle an inch thick. It is an all time favourite for both David & I & is what I always made for David’s birthday cake. This was as good as mine, home made & ‘to die for,’ complete with candle to be blown out on the top just before the girls rushed off to their next appointment.
About to attack the passionfruit sponge cake!
Well what a day. I had a most memorable time & as I drove back to Warners Bay I felt so humble & so happy. I am so richly blessed.
And I was so happy that when I got back to Warners Bay I really didn’t want to go home. I had two huge pudding parcels to post to Sydney & Canberra so I thought I would do that. I parked the car, put the large parcels on the boot hoping that I could carry them across the road into the post office.
A nice man saw me & the parcels, came over & took it all in hand. As we walked towards the Post Office I asked him if he liked Christmas pudding – did he what! I dashed back to the car to get a little baby one & that man would not hear of me taking the parcels. He carried them inside & down to the counter.
I had the pudding to give to him & saw the look in Dave’s eye, an employee from behind the counter, so I explained it wasn’t for him this time. I give the Post Office staff a baby pud each Christmas to thank them for their service.
Naturally, Dave thought this one was for him & was lamenting that he was only in the PO on borrowed time, so I made sure he would be there the next day.
When I took it into him I received a big smile! My friend who carried the cartons in for me was also quite stoked with his little gift although assuring me it wasn’t necessary. It never hurts & it doesn’t cost much to spread a little goodwill around.
I know it is the theme at Christmas, but I observed my Gran when I was very little who gave the tradesmen with whom she dealt, including the grocer, a little gift at Christmas with her greetings. Thank you Gran, I learnt a lot from observing the kind things you did!
Doing the crossword puzzle at Michele’s.
I still wasn’t ready to go home & thought I could drink another coffee, so sat down in my favourite place, Micheles Patisserie. I was working my way through a crossword puzzle when Ursula appeared at my side. So naturally she drank coffee too, had something to eat & we talked for the next hour!
I don’t think I wanted my birthday to end, but all good things must, Â so I finally got home nine hours after I left. It was so quiet when I walked in, not a soul, not a sound, but as I put my handbag down it all started!
The birthday wasn’t over yet & I still have a lot to share with you.
Love you I miss you my friend, my letters are all I can do for you. Dawn X O X O