Up and out before anyone could say “boo” (or happy birthday), mom arrived back at the apartment as we were finishing breakfast with her hair properly coiffured. First treat of the day: her birthday book, filled with pages from children, grandchildren, friends and extended family. Marilyn spent hours reading through it and enjoying old pictures, rhymes and funny stories from her past.
The girls then primped for the luncheon (and boys for theirs) and off we went to Mar-a-Lago. Harriet Hoffman threw the luncheon for mom, which was attended by all of her close Florida friends.
And what’s this? A surprise guest, as you can see from the look on mom’s face:
After recovering from that, the boys made a brief visit and mom dragged Lee by the arm to show all of her friends that she actually DID have a son along with the three daughters:
Time to be seated in the lovely room, bordered by a long, half-wall open to the beautiful gardens.
Luckily for me, Harriet toasted mom right away so the rest of us did as well (then I could eat once the butterflies had fled my stomach).
A non-stop cascade of women acknowledging my mother’s warm heart, fun nature and tell-it-like-it is persona. I started to feel like I was on familiar ground with that! Yummy food, followed by beautiful cake,
and then I had to go home to recuperate before the next event! Mom, Stacey, Betsy and Lisa went to my cousin Jennifer’s clothing show, but I headed back to sleep on a lounge chair on the balcony. The boys, smiling through it all:
Some pool and sun time, then time to dress again, this time for the dinner at Marilyn and Bill’s private supper club. But first, the children gave their mother a gift: a gourmet getaway in the Napa Valley for 3 night and 4 days.
The epicurean adventure includes a trip to the farmer’s market with a chef, followed by an afternoon cooking class and dinner on the patio with a view of the vineyards; a visit to the olive farm and a pressing; a wine thieving; a 7-course meal at Bottega and a visit to a vineyard for an afternoon tasting. Then off we go again: cocktails, candlelit dinner, presents and more cake.
Betsy had 4 servings of foie gras (which I won’t eat on principle), and all of us had plenty of champagne. I went to compliment the piano player (don’t shoot me), he asked for a request, and then Tom and I had to get up and dance! Group hug (picture),
then off to the club. Well, we have to drop the birthday girl off at the apartment
because she had waaaaay too much fun. The rest of us met at the restaurant around the corner, that has a DJ and music on weekend nights. More cocktails, dancing, and laughing, mostly out on the sidewalk because it was too crowded inside.
And how much fun was enough? Depends upon who you’re asking. For a couple of wild nuts, the answer seemed to be: just a little bit more!
All in all, the day was a huge success, and I told mom that I hoped she enjoyed it (which she did), because it wouldn’t ever get better than that.