V's Version

I really don't think I feel better than when I can help a person or bring happiness to someone. I love being happy myself, of course, but by affecting change or spreading love, I am just connected to something so much larger than myself. And I LOVE that feeling of being a tiny small grain in a vast endless strand of beach. I am part of something beautiful and that, in and of itself, makes me happy!

Dani and I planned a very labor intensive and fun fun fun 80th birthday party for her mother, April. April is amazing. Not that she would ever tell you (she is quite humble) but she has so much of my respect. Just the fact that she used to go to ten cent movies blows me away (and thinking of how much technology has changed and there she is - keeping up with all of it - sending out emails with the best of them!) But there is so much more. She grew up in a tough time - during the Depression and WW II - in a tough family situation. She graduated from UC Berkeley in the 50s and managed to raise three children (not without heartache) as a single mother.

Throughout her entire life, she has had a sense of fashion and has watched the movie stars. Her daughter even works in Hollywood. And for her 80th birthday, we just knew that we had to honor her life and her passion. She so deserves the recognition! She has improvised and kept a budget without sacrificing style and taste - ever. She is lively and animated and beautiful and both Dani and I agree that if we are as active as April is at 80, it will be a miracle!! (She takes a painting class, still walks to the store, goes on travel adventures, visits her 105 year old neighbor often, hikes in the woods and may even take swimming lessons in the new Senior Center pool!)

This weekend we gave her a Hollywood-themed costume party. Parker dressed as James Bond and April was Bette Davis from "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Dani was the PERFECT Charlie Chaplin and April's friend Ron was John Wayne. I was, of course, Cher.

We literally painted the front porch to make a red carpet for her to walk up and waiting for her was a giant Academy Award Oscar and a gold star with her name on it! There were gold stars EVERYwhere, in fact - on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. We made a soundtrack of songs from the Golden Age of Movies for the iTunes. It was very festive.

The meal was delicious (Dani is an amazing cook and everybody brought something to the table in potluck style) and afterwards, we played a Hollywood trivia game (that took many hours to make up - thank heavens for Wikipedia!) including April and her life! While eating cake, we gave her gifts. Parker made her a handmade decoupage trunk to store her pictures (she is an avid genealogy buff with a book of family history in the works) and her friend Eve gave her a cabbage stuffed with money! That was hilarious! Our big gift is taking a road trip to Hollywood but just to go that extra mile, we did something really special.

We made a mock Hollywood STAR magazine - with pictures of all the movie stars and famous people who were born in 1927 (there are a LOT!) I took actual photographs of April and superimposed them into the glamour paparazzi shots so it looks like April is right there with the legends on the red carpet - at the Academy Awards, on the covers of magazines from the 40s and 50s - ooooooo - it took SO MANY hours to make. We stayed up late into the night many nights over to get it done. And we are thrilled.

To see Aprils face as she looked at an image of herself in the arms of Gary Cooper was PRICELESS. It rocked my world and made me grateful to be alive. We are so lucky to have her in our lives. I don't take it for granted for one minute.