birthdays

Yesterday I was too busy enjoying the quiet to blog about a significant event in my family. Then my people crawled out from atop their mattresses and the quiet ceased. And it ceased till around midnight when my people were sent packing back to their quarters. Then I had to use brain cells that were lacking the ability to be used for my job as household executive manager. Quiet is no fun when you have to THINK while tired. In any case, yesterday was my father's 81st birthday, and his brother's 85th. Yes, you were not mistaken, I did not hit an 8 when I was reaching for its neighbor. It has been EIGHTY ONE and EIGHTY FIVE years those two souls have been on the Earth. Yes, they share a birthday, four years apart. Their parents' anniversary was four years before my uncle was born as well. Dad says Grandpa was a mathematician...in actuality, it was Grandma that had a very regular cycle. And NO my dad is not really my grandfather, like so many kids asked when I was younger. I completely tired of hearing that question quickly. He was nearing 50 when I was born...and even still there were two more after I arrived. Three more if you count the miscarriage Mom had. In any case, my sister went out Wednesday and got Dad a big beer to commemorate a little early. We were all on the phone together for quite a while, and Dad got the 22 ounce beer consumed in about 30 minutes. I quoted my father when I said "Old sots never die" and my sister added "and new ones don't stop". She then asked where that one originated, so I told her the New Year's story of how we took Dad to a party the first New Years after Mom died so he wouldn't be alone. We come from hardy Irish stock, and we know how to use it. Happy Birthday Dad & Uncle J. .... and Slainte.