Fifty

Well, the day of celebration was momentous and memorable! It started with a card and gift from Husband when I arrived at the breakfast table. There were a dozen gorgeous red roses from Husband at the office, and a bunch of purple and mylar balloons from my administrative assistant, and "fifty" confetti decorating my committee table.

And then there were cards ... oh my, the cards!  A big basket of them, full of cards from colleagues.  I figured that by the time all was said and done, well over a hundred people had birthday'd me with cards, e-mails, and dropping by to greet me during the day. (Add to that several hundred greetings on Facebook from people I've known around the world over the years, and it felt like a very special day.)

It was all a product of the scheming of my administrative assistant, Claudia, and my husband. Here I am with Claudia, who is the most excellent administrative assistant in the world. And no, you can't have her. She's also my friend, and we are pretty much agreed that where I go in this life, she goes!

Here's another look at that cake, which was really beautiful.

I had seen on my schedule a two-hour meeting with my associate about accreditation. I'd thought to myself, "That's suspicious. There's no way Scott and I can discuss accreditation for two hours!" But one knows not to ask about these things when it's one's special day.

Sure enough, at 1:00 the cake showed up and people began to arrive, creating a steady stream for the next two hours of well-wishers. Most of them were older than I, so I razzed them for advice regarding life after fifty. It was a delightfully fun, social time, and so enjoyable to be talking about non-work things with people that I'm usually all-business with.

From the last committee--and yes, I did work for about five hours out of the day--I joined Husband and my parents for a dinner in the Marcus Whitman Hotel restaurant downtown.

The Marcus Whitman is the grand old dame of hotels in our part of the state. There's a stateliness to her, and the staff there make sure the food is good and the atmosphere genteel.  I really enjoy it.

As we walked into the lobby we saw that there was a silent auction and gingerbread house showing underway.  The place was even more festive and twinkly for the time of year.

It was the loveliest birthday ever. Seriously. It could not be topped. I decided that while I will have more birthdays, Lord willing, there is no need for more big celebrations. I think I shall settle down to my fifties now and enjoy them.

There are good things to making a fuss about a rite of passage. This one was just right.