Happy Birthday!

Today is our eldest daughter's birthday.  There is no way that I plan on ever letting any one know exactly what age she is.  She does have the gene in the family that allows her to not tell the exact truth, if she so desires.  What she does know is that she can't possibly tell her true age because that would cause a problem with the age that I give as my own.  

This is the part that I will share with you  -  we came by this naturally.  My grandmother actually did something a very long time ago when she married my grandfather.  An older woman did not marry a younger man in 'those olden days.'  So, my grandmother was quite a looker and my grandfather fell for her and proposed.  I am not quite sure how she got by with it all, however, she did get by with knocking a few years off her age when they officially married.

That went on as a deep, dark secret for many, many years.  Why not?  It was not hurting anyone.  No problems at all.  Until the day that she decided to go traveling overseas with her sisters.  Ah...a passport had to be acquired, and this meant a real birth certificate. Since my grandfather had no interest in traveling overseas, then how would he know?  

These two wonderfully happily married people loved each other and trusted one another to the nth  degree.  To the point of when the mail arrived, whoever was home just opened it all and put it in the piles to sort through and take care of.  The day that my grandmother's passport arrived, my grandfather opened the mail. He looked over the passport and I heard him talking a bit to himself from my room, however, I could not make out what he said.  

My grandmother arrived home from her beauty shop appointment and out of the blue my grandfather said, "Well, hey there 'old lady!"
You could have heard a pin drop for about 30 seconds.  My mother, my brother, my grandmother and I could not believe that he would ever say such a thing to our grandmother.  He was always the soft spoken quiet one.  What was he thinking?

Then, when he started waving a paper, which turned out to be my grandmother's passport, he explained that all these years she was actually older than he was.  Oh, I can tell you that he played this one up big time.  Was he upset?  No!  My grandmother was a bit upset.  The cat was out of the bag.  And in front of everyone.  It is a story that he never, ever let her live down.  Whenever he tried to bring it up she would just say, "Now you hush that foolish talk, Max!"  It was so adorable to watch the two of them.  

I never forgot that scene.  So...really, about the age thing?  It is a natural for all of the females in the family to follow.  It really is to the point of when I am asked my birthday, I have to really think if they really need my real birthday or one of the fake ones.  Finally, I made it easy on myself and went exactly ten years.  Soon, I may change that.  We shall see!

So, Jennifer...Happy Birthday to YOU - whatever age you may be!