those kind of people

This weekend I had the pleasure and the honour and the fun of going to my Dad's 70th birthday party. I tried to say all this to him and mom the next morning, but they sorta deflected the point and talked about how blessed they are to have such loving family and great friends. So I'll say it here, and maybe if you see them you can help it sink in.

Dad blowing out the candles, with a little help from his
youngest grandson 

Nobody kept track of the number of people at Dad's party, but the crowd included 

• his very busy hostess with the mostest and wife of almost 50 years,   

• 2  out of 3 daughters & 1 son in law, 

• 4 of 5 grandchildren, 

• 2 sisters, 1 brother, 4 brothers in law, & 2 sisters in law, 

• 2 nieces + their sweeties, 

• and approximately 20 friends who went back at least 40 and perhaps as many as 60 years. 

At one point in the party Mom & Dad were actually able to recreate their wedding party photo, sans only the flower girl (I'll update this post when I get a copy). I reconnected with old neighbours from my childhood, who are neighbours again in my parents' retirement, and met some of Mom and Dad's new friends. The atmosphere was festive and relaxed and very honouring of Dad, and all of the guests were free to mix and mingle and come and go (even their dear daughters, who had been assigned some sort of task, wandered off with our boys to frolf in the park for a while - and I have to admit that was a highlight for me, having my boys together and all of us having fun). 

As I drifted off to sleep that night I was struck by the fact that Mom only put the call out about this party 2 weeks ago, and people came from as far away as Calgary - because my parents are the kind of people who  other people like to celebrate. They are not super flashy [though they are both stylish], they are super reliable. They are not on the cover of newspapers, but they show up time and time again - to help, to laugh, to encourage, and to celebrate others. They are accepting, encouraging, generous, fun and utterly loving. They haven't just stuck by each other for 50 years, they have been there for their daughters, grandkids, siblings, and friends. They've never asked for recognition ...

I've always loved my parents. Like any teenager there were definitely times when I didn't honour and obey them, but I have always loved them. And now, witnessing this weekend, and being in the room with all those other friends and family, I really hope that someone can say of me someday that I'm as count-on-able, generous, and fun as they are. I really hope that I am learning to be one of those kind of people.

UPDATE: The wedding party - then and now

October 1962

June 2011