Happy Birthday

Today, I'm trying not to feel ridiculously old. My daughter has reached the age of 30. It really does not seem possible that 30 years ago, on a Sunday, she arrived. Thirty years is a long time, but, in a way, not long enough.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I have been sending, since the end of October, one birthday card a day. She should have received 30 of them; some silly, some dumb, some sentimental, but all sent with lots of love. That was the nefarious thing I was up to when I posted, earlier, the photo of the cards with stickers attached. I've done this to several other people. It can get expensive when they get up around my age, but I guarantee, years later, the recipient is still talking about it and probably still has all the cards.

She gives me a list every year and I buy things off the list but I also am always on the lookout for things I think she might like. Sometimes, I'm way off, but other times it turns out to be something she didn't know was out there. One of the items I sent this year falls into that category.

We both love Fred and Ginger movies. When I think of movie musicals, their movies always pop up first. They were always upbeat. In spite of contrived reasons why they couldn't be together or why they break up, they always got back together at the end, usually also in a very unrealistic fashion. I always wanted a replica of one of Ginger's dresses; total froth and I'd have no place to wear it, but look! Feathers! Tulle! Organza!

And the dancing. Oh the dancing. This book, which I wound up reading after I got it, talks about the dancing and the movies that made up their partnership in the 1930's. The author took each movie they made, pulled them apart, put them in categories by story line and then discusses how the dancing was used to further the plot or, in some cases, to distract you from a really silly plot. As an example, she discusses their early movie, Roberta, which was supposed to be a showcase for Randolph Scott and Irene Dunne. But those performers parts pale in comparison with what Fred and Ginger do.

If you like their movies, this book is an excellent companion to them. It's not very big and is well organized so if your night includes Swing Time or Follow the Fleet, you can flip easily to the section about those movies and watch how the dancing enhances the movie.

The other thing I did was burned all of the photos and folders we got from our Civil War Battlefield trip back in 2001 onto a DvD.

She's always been a student of history and this trip was kind of a culmination of that. I have the originals, but she now has everything to review and remember.

Here's to my marvelous daughter. Happy birthday.

Beverage:  Coca-Cola

Deb