Sometimes you have to look back to look forward

Lubbock, Texas  1970

I have a milestone birthday coming up.  But a normal day, I hope, and not full of fanfare.  I'm just happy to have made it this far with my sanity and health mostly intact!  And I look back at some of my many birthdays, and certain ones really stand out.  The above picture was my 10th birthday.  Mom made the cake from scratch and placed the candles in lifesavers candy as holders.  I remember the dress; it was my favorite (also made by her).  I was anxious for all of us to finish dinner so we could get on to cake and presents.  I got a purse and some money and though that doesn't seem like much, I remember being very happy.   Within months my parents would be divorced and mother would have moved  her three kids to Galveston.  So my next birthday was very different, to say the least.

But I think that it's good to look back - I have mostly happy memories of my childhood. And birthdays now are certainly different!  

And that's not a bad thing.