At My Age..

...seems like simple pleasures are the most satisfying.

Yesterday was my birthday. I found many well wishes in my electronic inbox. People were very kind to remember. I had lunch with one of my prayer partners- he even bought it!

My wife and son gave me a pair of shoes and a new belt to replace one that (popped) became unusable. With age comes an expanded middle. I had several cards waiting on me. I was advised to "do nothing I did not wish to do." How does one do this and pursue his vocation?

There was even grilled steak for supper.

I enjoyed all these things immensely.

But I really enjoyed the strawberry cake. We had staff meeting and there it was- homemade strawberry cake. As I was growing up, Mother knew that was the cake I wanted. For some reason, my father always insisted on making my picture sitting beside it with the candles lit. I suppose somewhere I have 18 pictures of successive birthdays- each with me sitting beside a strawberry cake.

I have to admit that it has been years since I had homemade strawberry cake- the kind that uses the frozen berries in the cardboard can with metal ends. Some got close, but cherry cake with canned strawberry icing just isn't the same.

But for my birthday one of staff secretaries' husband made the finest cake I've had in years. Like the cartoon dog, Snuffles, I exclaimed my groans of delight. If I could, I'd have jumped into the air and floated down like he did.


As I took the first bite and realized it was just like momma's, I got a bit misty-eyed. Memories returned of birthdays gone by. I thought of my mother- now in glory. That was the best birthday present of all.

Mother is gone, but her recipe lives on.

Simple pleasures like homemade strawberry cake are the best.

I got another birthday present, too. I'm going to redeem it tomorrow. I'll write about it -and the results- in a later post.

Now, if I could just get that old Beatles tune out of my head...."You say it's your birthday..."