Happy Birthday to my Sister Margaret

My sisters have birthdays a week apart making this birthday season at my childhood home. I think that getting a baby sister for her birthday was not exactly the present Margaret wanted when she was six, but Janet turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving.

I sent Margaret a very good gift today because she turned 60. Our father was still alive when I turned 60 and I knew he was in a very bad way because he completely forgot about it and when I mentioned it to him weeks later he did nothing to make amends. It hurt me, but I knew he was not well.

I didn’t want Margaret’s 60 to be like that. When Janet turns 60 I’ll do the same for her. Margaret said she was happy to be turning 60 because then it is OK if you look old because you are old. I agree. When I was younger and someone asked me my age I always added ten to fifteen years just to get a reaction out of them.

“Wow, you look great.”

“Well I’m really (subtract 15 from the number I gave them).” It changes everything.

I never understood why women lied about how old they were, making themselves younger, that is so much harder to keep up.

So Happy Birthday Margaret. You will always be younger than me!