Turning Sixty

A long time ago i wrote a piece about extended families. Those people that you consider family even though they aren't related by blood. i think the official

definition was all those living under one roof, though in this case i want to include those that don't actually live with us. i want to include all those friends and family that took time out of their lives to take care of me, to spend time with me, and to celebrate with me.

A few weeks ago i took off for England to visit family and to close up loose ends my Mom had left in the place of her birth after she died. All my aunts, uncles and cousins have lived in the same city for generations and can trace themselves back hundreds of years. On this side of the Atlantic our nuclear family missed out on those ties that bind but gets to experience it first hand whenever we visit and i think we extend this sense of family to those outside our family because it just feels like the right thing to do.

From the pick-up at the airport until the drop-off at the end of the trip i was literally wrapped in a cocoon of family love. There was nothing they wouldn't do to help make my trip as comfortable and stress free as possible. To say i had a fabulous time is an understatement. Every single day i was taken care of, i was fed gourmet meals, i was toured around and i was helped to accomplish those tasks necessary to finalize the hanging bits of my mother's life. i had lovely walks in the park, bird watching outings, fish and chips, lovely long chats with every member of the family. We dined in quaint restaurants, shopped in fancy stores, picked up groceries on sale and indulged in sweet tooth debauchery in tea shops. It couldn't have gone any smoother if i had written a fictionalized story.

Everyone in England was super and it never rained. Believe it or not it never rained. Even the traveling back and forth across the Atlantic, going through customs, renting cars, finding arrival and departure gates, never getting jet lag. It was surreal. i think my Mom must have had a hand in it as someone was definitely looking out for me.

Back in the states i even had time to visit more family in NY, help with homework and fly out the next day just in time to miss winter moving in.

When i got home to St. Croix, more unforeseen events awaited. My daughter and her friend had decided to surprise me with a visit to celebrate my 60^th birthday and popped out from behind the half wall when i arrived home after the trip. i have never been so astounded in my life. Being taken care of continued on through the long party weekend. They cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner and wouldn't let me do a thing.

Kaja,Mo,Sheelagh,Ariel

It started with cracked Stone Crab that Kaja brought from Florida. The Finfolk breakfast on Saturday with all my buddies i have been hanging out with for 20 years. Art, Ariel and Kaja put on quite a spread making the whole morning seamless, but this wasn't the end. The culmination came on Sunday with close friends they had invited for dinner outside on the deck. The Filet Mignon, Scallops, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, salad with homemade blue cheese dressing and Ariels Chocolate cake and Arts vanilla ice cream. My sweet husband, daughter, son and second daughter catered the most amazing weekend i have ever had in my entire life.

i'll turn 60 every year if this is what it is like. So many friends joined in with the family and celebrated with us. i don't ever write about myself or post personal pics, this blog wasn't supposed to be about me but these past few weeks have been the most amazing and i don't ever want to forget that family and friends are what makes life worth living.

Thank you all for a wonderful few weeks.

Sheelagh