We are lucky. Our kids live in Michigan, close enough so that when there is a birthday, like yesterday, we can all get together.
For Peter's 30th birthday we all met at The French Laundry in Fenton. Everybody had an hour or two drive to get to the dinner. From the Thumb, East Lansing, Howell and Detroit area, we all met at this somewhat quaintly named restaurant not too far off the US 23 corridor.
The dinner was delightful. We missed our family people who are working out West, Will and Clay, who are in LA and Salt Lake.
The older I get the more I realize that one of the immeasurable gifts of life is a birthday. A birthday celebrates the great and good things in life as well as the small and the simple. A grandchild's smile, a family joke, a funny birthday card, a good meal -- birthdays stand as a time to be together and be thankful, one day and one life at a time.
Copyright 2011
Wanda Hayes Eichler
Wanda, thanks for reminding us of these simple truths:) Why is this place named the French Laundry if it is a restaurant? interested!
ReplyDeleteI guess that the building was a laundry at one time. There is a photo from the 1940's on the wall with the owner's picture. The caption says he liked good food. Ah, a foodie from the forties! A man before his time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the blog. I wrote this post this morning, knowing that just down the road from our farm would be a funeral at the Mennonite Church for a 61 year old farmer who died as the result of a combine accident.
One night -- a birthday to celebrate.
The next day -- a life to mourn.
Life is a puzzle. It is a gift. It is a wonder. It is a predicament. And, through it all, we are blessed. All of us.