day, sixty years ago. There was a picture of me signing the register at the Warwick Hotel where we were married. There was a congrat- ulatory telegram from a friend of the fami- ly from 60 years ago. There was a newspaper story mentioning us about our honeymoon at Grossinger’s Hotel in the Catskill Mountains. All the assorted liquor bottles had labels with a picture of Herman and I at our wedding. Our bed was covered with a giant heart of roses and there were more roses in a beautiful vase. I am very sentimental about such things and I was very moved by the work and the research the kids did just to please us. On the one hand, there is our son in a wheelchair and on the other hand there is this overwhelming, touch- ing, beautiful experience that lets you know you are surrounded by love and respect. We had to take a little bus from the cabana to the Boca Hotel on the Intra-coastal Water- way. The trip took about fifteen minutes. When our family gets together there are always lots of laughs, especially when the younger genera- tion is present. The bus trip was no exception. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. At the restaurant most of the kids had a separate table; the older folks had a long table of their own. Dinner and conversation were great and the wines kept flowing. I kept saying what a shame it was that our granddaughter Jessi- ca couldn’t get away from college to be with us. Then who walked in but Jessica. Everyone knew she was coming but me. What a bonus. When our granddaughter Lauren (our fashion designer) walked in, and the girls saw her for the first time in quite a while, they ran across the large room to greet her and jump up and down with excitement. Herman and I kept looking around the room, amazed at the fact that all this, all these people and all this joy, came from just the two of us (with a little help from God). It is unbelievable. DAY TWO After breakfast we headed back to the cabana the kids rented. I am not allowed to get too much sun. You can’t imagine the compli- cations for getting us all together; there is a different schedule for everyone, especially for
the kids away at school. Somehow it all came together. To be around all the energy the kids release is exhausting. I really should take vitamins so I can handle it. Jessica had to run to a mall to buy some clothes for a college trip. Logan got yelled at and had to get back to his room to study for a big exam. Our daughter, Wendy, brought a portable sewing machine to the cabana and sewed beautiful placemats. I played Banana Grams with some of the grandkids. One son is getting a massage. My son-in-law, Max, had to drive to Coral Springs to water the roses he planted yesterday. Wendy and Max’s daughter, Abigail, went home with Max to study for the four tests she will take next week. Busy, busy, busy. Yesterday we had a late lunch and I wasn’t hungry at all for dinner – French onion soup and one spare rib from my son and that was it. I was even afraid to have a glass of wine, although I usually enjoy it. So, having learned my lesson, I had an early breakfast and waited all day for dinner. I am happy I did because we are going to a very nice restaurant tonight. We will be about forty people for dinner, includ- ing close cousins and Herman’s older brother, Harry and his wife Ida. I didn’t know until after I was dressed that white was the appropriate color for a 60th anniversary. There was a private room for us at the restaurant and four tables for our group. Herman and I sat with our cousins, Frances, Marty and Ethel, and Herman’s brother, Harry and his wife, Ida. The grandkids sat together with their cousins; their parents sat together with their cousins. I never know what to expect from my kids and I innocently just walk in thinking of noth- ing special – they surprised me again. There were large photographs from our wedding all around the room. On the window of the party room, where they were serving hors d’oeuvres, our daughter-in- law, Diane, had pasted 5 x 7 photographs of us all over the windows as well. After a while Wendy called Herman and me up to where she was standing at the head of the room. They had placed two chairs there for us and we were the center of attention. She
331
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator