Birthdays

50f /10C this morning, mostly sunny, very breezy. 81f right now. Too warm for me.

Today is the birthday of two very special people--my oldest son and my English granny. My son turns 56 today, and my Granny would have been 131. She died in 1993 at 99 and a half years old. I thought I would post a few favorite photos of each of them. They shared a kind, thoughtful and giving way, quiet personalities and a keen sense of humor. George never met his great grandmother, sadly. Back then the miles were just too much for us to afford travel, and of course Granny's health precluded it for her.

First, my Granny. This photo is labeled "60th birthday". She was visiting us in our little house in Centreville, Virginia, in 1954, back when Centreville was a crossroads with a gas station, hardware store, and a general store, and a bar or two. Today it's a suburb of DC and is a huge, sprawling place.

This was also Easter Sunday that year, which explains Granny's lovely hat. Like this year, Easter was very late in 1954.

I don't remember this event, of course, as I was not quite 3, but surprisingly I do remember Hurricane Hazel that occurred that same year, because it was the first time I had seen hail. I remember the ice pieces were huge in my little hand. I also remember Mom talking about the "eye" of the storm. But Hazel occurred on October 15 of that year, so I was 6 months older by then.

Below is my mother and her siblings with Granny. I am not sure of the year, but I believe it was around 1980 when Mom made one of her trips to England. Standing, Aunt Dodo, Uncle Ted (for longtime readers of John's blog By Stargoose and Hanglands, this was John's father, and the man who coined the term that came to name the blog). Next to Ted is my mother, June. Seated is Aunt May, the oldest sibling, then Granny, and Aunt Grace sitting on the arm of the sofa. Aunt Grace passed away in 2022, at 102 years old. 

Now, my son George: He's the adventurer in the family, taking annual weeklong hikes through the Rockies,usually with his daughter Grace, pictured with him here in Wyoming a few years ago.

One of George's annual New Year's morning photos. He hikes to the top of a mountain near his home in eastern West Virginia every New Year's to greet the dawn and the year.

And last, George with his family, taken last year when he was attending the annual banker's conference at the Greenbrier Resort. He cleans up pretty good!

Thinking of them both today.Granny is probably sipping tea from a bone china cup in heaven. And George? He is on his annual trout fishing kayak trip on a beautiful secluded river that flows through our West Virginia mountains. A perfect way to celebrate his birthday, I think.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Re-posting this, ten years later. Hard to believe he's 45. 

Son number 4, and the biggest baby of the bunch at almost 9 pounds.

Aaron loved to do things for others, and still does--we had just moved to our farm when he brought me these flowers. The smile on his face was almost worth more to me than the gift.

Aaron was almost lost in the drifts of the big snows of 1977 and 1978. Those winters were hard times because the house wasn't really finished, we didn't have a good wood stove, and money was scarce. But those deep snows meant no one went to school for almost a month, and there was plenty of time to play outside.

Always outside, always barefoot, and always a soft spot for animals. I think this cat was called Pattypaws.

Aaron was the star of the Christmas play when he was 8; he had the part of Mr. Scrooge. And boy did he ham it up!



When Tommy was born, Aaron was 13 and suddenly no longer the baby of the family. But he jumped right in, learning to help us take care of the new baby. Tommy had an interesting childhood with so many older brothers. I can remember him being the "girl magnet" they took to town to cruise for chicks. What girl could resist a young man toting around a blond, curly-headed little brother?

Aaron was an uncle when he was 16, when Jordan was born. That's Aaron on the left--who is that nut third from the left?

At 18 and in the Air Force. We missed him a lot during the four years he was stationed on the west coast.

College after the Air Force, then marriage and a little boy who wants nothing more than to be just like his Dad.

And a little girl who is the apple of her daddy's eyes.
It's been quite a journey so far, Aaron. May all your coming years be as good as the ones just passed. You still look pretty good for an old man of 35!

Blackwater Falls

It was a fine way to start off my birthday: a visit to West Virginia's grandest waterfall.

I was at Blackwater Falls State Park Saturday evening for a storytelling performance. I love this park--the thick evergreen forests, moss-covered rocks, the river, and the lodge are all worthy of posts of their own. We slept well, then had breakfast in the wood-paneled, window-wrapped dining room. Such food! Light fluffy biscuits with crunchy bottoms, a fresh fruit salad, excellent coffee, eggs, sausage, pancakes--you name it, it was on the breakfast bar and it was all delicious.

Then we visited the falls. It has been a couple years since I was there. I stop whenever I'm in the area because one cannot witness such beauty too many times in a lifetime. The falls were running full after all the rain we've had the past week or so, and they were a tremendous sight to see.

There were many smaller but no less spectacular things to see on the way down:

And finally, the falls:

You can hear for yourself how it was:

I did not venture all the way to the lowest viewing platform on this trip--the steps were a bit slippery from the rain and the humidity was so high it made breathing a little difficult. But I got close enough to satisfy my needs.

Goodbye, Blackwater, until next time!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

A Birthday Blessing

Jon means gift of God, and so he was, and so he still is through his daughters and his wife. This would have been his 43rd birthday. I remember the night he was born as if it was last week: the quick onset of labor at just about this time of the evening, the rush to the hospital, the confident doctor who assured me it would be hours and the same doctor rushing frantically back to deliver Jon at 9:31pm. My hospital roommate delivered her daughter just one minute earlier (same doctor) and we stayed up all night talking and wondering what baby was making all that noise in he nursery. As it turned out, it was mine. He was hungry and letting the world know he was not happy. Even though 3 weeks early, Jon came bursting into the world and continued to forge ahead throughout his life.

It ended too soon, and he is so deeply missed. But we were and are blessed to have had him with us, and the memories he left us are treasures that brighten the hard times. I know that many of his friends and all of his family are thinking about him today and wishing he was here to celebrate. He is here though, in our hearts and in our stories about him, and in the legacy he left us: his five beautiful girls and his wife who is a cherished part of our family.

He was a gift, indeed. Happy birthday, Jon.



Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Happy Birthday, Jaime!

Here's to you, Jaime--

Great gardener

Caring mommy

Lovely wife

Creative cook

Peace lover

Home maker

and lucky me, my daughter-in-law!

Happy, happy birthday!

(Ha! Caught you looking at the camera for once! Who is that wild woman with you?)

Happy Birthday, Miss Shakin'!

That would be Michaela, our youngest grandchild and daughter of Aaron and Jaime. Shakin' is short for shake-n-bake, and I have no idea how she got that nickname.

Michaela will be six--my have those years flown by!

Elizabeth

Me and Elizabeth in 1968--isn't she cute?

Tomorrow is Elizabeth's birthday. She is number #6 sister, and #11 in the order of birth in our family (it goes Bill, Tom, Joe, me, Judy, Mary, Theresa, Maggie, Stephen, John, Elizabeth, Cathy, Julie).

Sisters together in 2002. Lizzie is 3rd from the right.

This is a BAD photo of Julie, and Mary has lost over 50 pounds since then. Me? pretty much the same size and weight today (sigh)

Lizzie has taken an unconventional path through her life, and most of it hasn't been easy. But she has survived. And continues to learn to be a mother and a sister. She is an inspiration to me because she finds a way to keep going, even when all odds are against her. Elizabeth will probably never be rich (but neither will I!), but she will find her way to happiness, and that is better than riches in my book.



So to my little sister, who has traveled rough seas but always reached a lifeboat, I say: Happy, happy birthday. I am so very glad you are my sister.

Making fruitcakes in 2006. Maggie was pasted in because she could not be there due to Roger's severe burns that happened a few motnhs before. This was soon after Dad passed away. We were determined to carry through with the tradition of making fruitcakes, and it was a healing experience. We could laugh, cry and remember together. What a gift. Lizzie is on the right, front row.

I remember when Lizzie was "my baby." Back then, when Mom had children the new babies were sort of assigned to older children. Lizzie was mine. I will always remember her bright black eyes and black hair, her incredible smile that still dazzles. Later, at my brother John's wedding, she danced with my husband in a way that completely won him over--he came back smiling and laughing and full of the force that is Elizabeth. She is a beautiful, beautiful woman, and she is still my baby.

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

An Hour Outside with My Camera

Starting at the old cellar door...

and onto the porch, the snakeskin found by Haley and Hannah in the chicken house...

to the grape arbors and the bluebird who has a nest in the hole in one post..

to the second snakeskin, also in the chicken house (and the probable reason for the sudden decline in eggs)...

and how odd to see where the eyes and mouth of the snake were...

to the deck, where a wasp has found an easy waterhole...

out to garden where a bumblebee feasts on coneflower...

joined by a Black Swallowtail...

and on the peach tree, an Eastern Fence Lizard who posed for many photos...

as you can see...

It was a lovely hour, and I was never more than 100 feet from my front door.

What a Birthday!

Since the year I turned 50, each birthday has occurred during a time of crisis of one sort or another. At 50, I was recuperating from a bad accident. At 51, my mother was recovering from a coma; 52, Derek was in Iraq. At 53, I was battling asthma, allergies and bronchitis. On my 54th birthday, my husband was dealing with major health issues. At 55, my mother had recently passed away and my father was in failing health. We lost him a few months later.

This year, after seemingly months of sorrow, life is getting back on track. Two sons are still in the military, and more worry lies ahead in the coming year. But right now, today, was about as nice as I could wish for.

What did I do? Very little! I fixed a country breakfast for Larry and granddaughters Haley and Hannah. Then I worked on stories for tomorrow's performances at two libraries and spent an hour in the yard with my camera, getting some good pictures I'll post in the coming days. I took Haley and Hannah to visit my friend Andrea and her little daughter, and we enjoyed the scones, whipped cream and tea Andrea made, and we sat out in her lovely yard and talked.

Home to find Larry had made a birthday cake, so we sang happy birthday and had cake for dinner. Then I went to writers group to find that Cheryl had brought a cake! They all sang happy birthday to me on the courthouse lawn. It was so neat.

James and Michaela called and sang happy birthday over my cell phone, and messages from my sons and other grandchildren waited when I returned from writers group. Sisters and brothers emailed, called or sent cards. I feel so loved!

I hope to have many more birthdays, but this one will stand out as one of the best I have ever had. Thank you to all who remembered me (my friend Tim in England, and Tracy--thank you!)