Birthday Musings

April is birthday month for us. Half of our little family celebrates their birthday not only in the same month but on the same day and to go a bit further – both were born at the same time! Freaky isn’t it? Father and daughter – 49 and 14.

Miss V-L really wanted to have a very British tea party to celebrate. We had loads of fun and have managed to build up a great little collection of British decor – which will come out again when the country celebrates the Queens Jubilee and of course the bunting will be out and adorning the house during the Olympics. The British are very patriotic and if you are going to make England your home – best you get bunting! LOL. If you are wondering about the GREAT BIG candle in the cake – we had completely forgotten to check that we had birthday candles and only discovered when the guests arrived that we were in need of them! So a plan was made which added a little of the ‘Mad Hatter’ to our British tea.

The girls all got dressed in their very best garden party dresses – topped with facinators and looking very beautiful. (A facinator is a hair decoration usually in the shape of a flower made of feathers and tulle – you’ll have to google it. All frightfully British!) In all the rush I neglected to get a picture! But you can take my word for it -they all looked very pretty ;o)

All the fancy clothes did not last long into the celebrations though – the girls discovered that being all dressed up is rather restrictive and hinders ones ability to let go and have fun. More importantly – you simply cannot got down to the muddy stable yard in your best shoes! Which is why Miss V-L is not in her party best in the top photograph ;o)

I think what struck me most about this day, was the carefree way in which my children STILL embrace life. I feel blessed that they are at home and have not been pressed into unnatural molds that would have been imposed on them were they at school. All the children that were here had that same ‘lightness’ about them. How wonderful to be 14 and to be able to be exactly who you are!