Ninety Years Old and Still Going Strong!

My dad recently turned 90 years old this year. He left the ranks of being an octogenarian and boldly walked into the nonagenarian class. To honor this occasion, his ten children,11 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren decided to mark this blessed milestone with a three day celebration. His two oldest granddaughters were the capable and talented event planners. Family and friends were kept abreast of the planned events by regularly visiting the family website specially created for this lovely occasion.

Attending the 3 day celebration were family and friends from Missouri, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia. Family members residing in New Jersey and Delaware who were unable to attend sent their warm wishes and gifts. To capture the events of this marvelous occasion, we wrote the following account to be included in our family history for future generations.

Day One
A Friday night fish fry launched the informal welcome gathering for family and friends. The dress was casual, the dinner was delicious and food was plentiful with enough leftovers to be shared to quell the midnight munchies. The evening was highlighted by a stirring one woman show crafted and performed by a younger sister about the life and legacy of our dad's mother based upon interviews with her a few years prior to her death. In the portrayal, our sister presented the highlights of our grandmother's life and focused on how she has had and continues to have a lasting impression upon our family and will always be thought of with sweet memories. It was a moving performance with young and old family members and friends totally enraptured as they listened to the account of our grandmother's and great-grandmother's life. At evening's end, our dad shared comments about his love and memories of his mother and recounted how blessed he felt to have a family that so loved and respected him.

Day Two
Between day one and day two, our dad, along with one of our brothers was lodged overnight in a luxury hotel with all the amenities including a massage and room service. He slept late, had no particular schedule that day (as most 90 year olds) and spent the day leisurely enjoying the attention lavished upon him. Later that afternoon, dad and my brother were transported by private car service to the family dinner. On each side of the car were magnetic panels stating the website and special birthday of the 90 year birthday celebrant. Dinner was a dressy occasion and as you walked along the walkway leading to the banquet hall, there were a series of vintage newspaper design bags containing tea candles lighting the pathway. The vintage newsprint design was the overriding theme which was based upon our dad's love for reading newspapers from front to back. When you reached the doorway of the banquet hall, a young seven year old boy stylishly dressed in 1920's vintage newspaper boy clothing with knickers and suspenders topped with his stylish vintage kangol type cap loudly shouted Extra! Extra! Pop-Pop turns 90! He was so diligent and serious about delivering this significant news to the approaching guests and did an excellent job.
The decorations and table decor carried out the vintage newspaper design theme interspersed with old photos blown up to life size dimensions adorning the wall. A 90th birthday celebration banner was prominently displayed on the wall.

When dad entered the lovely decorated banquet hall complete with vintage newsprint decorations. it was apparent that he was enjoying the events and a sparkle and gleam could be noticed in his eye. The program began with a welcome from the emcee followed by a call to celebration given by 5 of his 7 great-grandchildren who range in age from 2 years old to 7 years old. A great-granddaughter wore a dress with a vintage newsprint bodice to carry out the theme! The prayer and blessing of the food were given by his second oldest son. A grandson, who is a youth pastor, read the Scriptures. The entertainment was provided by his college age grandchildren with one granddaughter singing a Duke Ellington jazz piece, another of his granddaughters offering a stirring, spiritual mime performance and a grandson flawlessly playing several saxophone selections that rocked the house. Each participant honed his or her performance to correlate with a special bond they shared with their grandfather. Throughout the program, the photographers professionally and unobtrusively circulated among the guests taking candid and formal poses which were later posted on the specially created family website. Commemorative CD's were available for family members as a memorable keepsake.

After a delicious dinner, proclamations were read from past and present cities where my dad has resided. He even received a proclamation from Mr. Chris Smith, an official of the Buffalo Bills football team, a team my dad follows and faithfully supports as an ardent fan. The proclamations were beautifully stated and all are suitable for framing. He has one remaining proclamation to come from the White House. Because of thousands of requests for special birthday greetings, there is a backlog but we were promised dad would indeed receive a proclamation signed by President Obama. As the evening progressed, numerous cards containing well wishes and monetary gifts and a "money cake" were presented to dad along with a very special gift of a "voice quilt". The voice quilt contains recorded messages from family and friends who were present as well as those who could not attend. The voice messages had been recorded previously and callers had been directed to call a special number to leave their messages. Once completed, the voice quilt staff compiled the messages into a CD and placed the CD into a lovely keepsake box. Dad can listen to these voice quilt messages which total nearly one hour of lovely comments and well wishes whenever he desires and it will serve as a lasting memory of his 90th birthday celebration. A slide show created and narrated by his oldest granddaughter detailed various highlights of dad's life and achievements.

Dad was presented with a very special authentic NY Times newspaper dated on his date of birth. That was truly a find and it was fascinating to see and read the news of the day on which he was born. His oldest granddaughter, with her ability to sniff out the unusual found the vendor who had the NY Times newspaper dated the same date as her grandfather's birth. His second oldest granddaughter gathered newspapers from across the country and presented them to her grandfather in a lovely basket. He will be reading for years, I'm sure! Sprinkled throughout the evening, trivia facts were read about events that occurred in 1921 such as postage stamps costing 3 cents, gasoline costing 11 cents a gallon, and the NY Giants winning the World Series. As you read the trivia facts, you were encouraged to make brief comments about dad if you so desired.

As the evening drew to a close, our youngest brother and sibling who is a pastor delivered a loving toast detailing dad's dedication, Christian walk and unfaltering provision for our family. Dad later admitted to me that he nearly became tearful as the toast was given. The traditional birthday song was sung followed by the serving of the cake and ice cream. Dad ended the celebration by giving his heartfelt thanks for all the demonstrations of love and support he had received through the years.He was truly moved by his 90th birthday celebration and thankful to God for the blessings of his life and his family. He gave a loving tribute to his wife, our mother, who passed away in 2004, praising her for her faithful and loving support and partnership in raising our family.

Day Three
The festivities concluded with family worshiping together at the church that one of my sisters and her husband attend. The pastor and various members warmly greeted our family after the service and commented on the blessing of dad celebrating 90 years. After the worship service, we gathered at our sister's and brother's-in-law house for an impromptu gathering for a late lunch with farewell greetings and prayer offered for the safe return for our out of town family and guests. It was a whirlwind weekend and a fitting tribute to a father who has been selfless in his love and provision for our family. In his closing remarks given during the birthday celebration weekend, he was noticeably moved by the outpouring of love and affection showered upon him. You deserve it dad. God's blessings continue to shower upon you for a life well lived and an model of Christian integrity worthy to be followed. Enjoy your 90th birthday year and all that God has for you in the future!