Chris and I told Rosemary that we were coming to visit and take her to lunch for her birthday. Everyone, including her friends, kept mum about the party. On Saturday, her sons called her from their respective homes to wish her a happy birthday. Sadly, no one could make it to lunch, not even her devoted daughter-in-law, Susan.
Here are the kids on Friday, when we arrived. Why does Arden's head look so big? I hope that's a trick of perspective and lighting. Yikes! It looks like she is one of the twins from "Flowers in the Attic." Giant head, tiny body...
We held the party at Aldo's in Wyckoff. I'm sure Rosemary wondered why we were heading out so far away, but she didn't say so. She did make a roundabout comment about how she expected all her children to be with her on her 80th birthday. So sad.
Chris went ahead with Neil, who picked him up on the sly. Chris told his mom his friend Bob was picking him up and would drop him off at the restaurant. I complained about it to Rose, but she defended Chris stating that he hadn't seen Bob in a long time.
When we arrived, I sent Gramma Rose and Alana ahead while the twins and I trailed behind. Jim got this great picture of Rosemary at the very instant she realized everyone she loved was packed into the room. Alana looks a little shell-shocked too because we didn't let her in on the surprise. You can't expect a chatterbox 4-year old to keep a secret!
Below are Chris, Frank, and Rose with the Purdue family.
One of the lovely fall-themed centerpieces that Susan and a friend designed.
The gift table with a small tribute to Tim as the 13th would have been his 86th birthday.
Aldo's garden room. The manager and staff at Aldo's was fantastic. Truly excellent service! And the food was good too.
Rosemary's church friends chatting with Christina Lang.
The two Rosemarys. Gramma Rose put her corsage in a tiny bud vase when we got home.
Big cousins keeping an eye on the little cousins.
Susan ordered this pretty cake from a bakery in Hawthorne.
Blowing out the candles. Her sons told her that she couldn't have 80 candles on the cake as it would be a fire hazard. In reality, we forgot the candles! Thank goodness Aldo's was prepared with a few to spare.
After the entrees, the brothers toasted their mom. Most were short and sweet. Stephen, however, offered us a wonderful monologue reminding us of many Roseisms...
Our kids were the youngest at the party and I suppose the worst behaved. Oh well. They did as well as could be expected for little ones who had to spend 4 hours in one room with boring grown-ups.
