a gift with meaning...the birthday book.

i am a lover of birthdays.
love them. always have. always will.
they all deserve a mention. a hug. a cake. and a present - no matter how big or how small.
they all deserve to be celebrate whatever the number.
and as sometimes we all DON'T want to say the number out loud, some are worth more of a mention than others.
this summer my mom turned sixty...what you didn't know??
and for her i wanted to do something special. really special. breathtaking. memorable.
yeah yeah i know i know - we all went away and spent a week together. but now that been and gone. a memory.
i wanted to do something for her that she could have. hold. stroke. cherish.
this is where the idea came from about the book.

yes i could have bought her something: a scarf. some perfume. an antique.
yes i could have bought her that, saved myself the time and commitment, collected my hug, kiss & thank you and been on my way.
but that's not my style.
if you have hung around here long enough you will know that THAT is not me.
i always go that extra "martha stewart" step that seems to alienate people.....or so says my husband.

so these are the crazy thoughts that had me come up with the idea of the keepsake book i made for my mom filled with cards and emailed well wishes for her from friends and family to help her celebrate as she danced her way into her 60's.

months before my mom's birthday i sent out the s.o.s. to the few friends of my mom's that i could find that i wanted to get this going. they put me in touch with this person and that person and soon i had a great big list and the quest was on! i already had all the family contacts so that was the easy part.
i sent out an email to people - some people got letters as i did not have their emails - detailing my project and then i waited. fingers crossed.

soon something great happened - people joined in!! i was so excited. the book was taking shape. old friends. new friends. family. they were all so happy to help. also i had requested old photo's as i do not have much myself and i couldn't very ask her! and those came to me as well!!

i am so happy that this worked out and i was so happy to be able to present this to her.
she was truly touched by all of you. your words, your stories, the gift of friends and family.

and i was too.
the fact that you would take the time write.
the fact that you had some fantastic stories to tell. memories to share.
the fact that you find her as special as we do.
.......for that i thank you.

thank you for helping me give this gift to my mom.
xo.

ps - if you were meaning to send something but either lost track of time or forgot, don't worry - happens to me all the time!! you can still send me something and i can still put it in her book. she's is sixty for the whole year!!
:)