Atlanta Vacay Day 5 ~ Happy 90th Boo!

What better reason to drive 16 1/2 hours with an 85 year old and a toddler than to celebrate your grandmother's 90th b-day? My entire family travelled to Atlanta for my Annie Boo's birthday party at Park Cafe in Duluth. My Mom specifically selected Park Cafe because it is in downtown Duluth where my grandmother grew up. Unfortunately, it didn't strike up a long-term memory that she could share, but she was having a very good day. We were joined by my great-aunt Pat, Annie Boo's only remaining sibling, and my cousin Denise, who's mother was my grandmother's sister.

My mom with Aunt Pat:

Annie Boo thoroughly enjoying her ice cream:

Happy Birthday, Boo!!! We love you!

Doing what we can...

Alzheimer's is a horrible disease that has taken the lives of my great grandmother Ma-ma, my great-uncle Jun, and my great-aunts Grace and Dot; all of which were my Annie Boo's siblings and mother. Not only has it taken the lives of so many that we loved, it as stolen so many precious years we could have shared with my Annie Boo. In December, she will turn 90 years old and though she is physically still here, she mentally does not know where she is, who she is, and certainly not who any of us are.

She is a far cry from the woman that was always perfectly coiffed. Every detail exactly as it should be from the Chanel suit, the designer shoes and handbag, to the carefully selected accessories. Never seen with a hair out of place or without her signature red lips, even at midnight in the check out line at Kroger. Every now and then she has a lucid moment where we see a glimmer of the woman we so dearly love. Something as small as an exciting tone in her voice or a heartfelt laugh. It is these moments that pushes us to do what we can to prevent others from living the cruel reality that is Alzheimer's.

This morning, Shari, Adam, Maison, and I participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer's in honor of my grandmother. Our team, Team Boo, which was the 3 of us plus my brother, raised $2450 for Alzheimer's research. We really appreciate everyone that supported us with donations. Our team ranked 15th in dollars donated with just 4 people!

Maison warming up for the walk:

At the starting line:

Walking through the fair grounds at Fair Park:

Maison hugging the elephant bye:

It was a very emotional experience but one we all thoroughly enjoyed. We will definitely have a team next year and hopefully earn more money to help end this horrific disease.

I'm Happy Holidays

Happy Birthday Annie Boo! Today is my maternal grandmother's 89th birthday. We were supposed to be in Atlanta for her birthday party but since Maison is still sick and Nannie has the flu we were unable to make the trip. So on this 13th day in December, I started thinking about my sweet Annie Boo and all the fun times we have had with her. Bubba, Shari, and I absolutely loved going to Annie Boo's, especially on Christmas. We couldn't wait. It was really more fun than Santa coming.

She would literally let us play with anything. Fine china to play house, anyone? 600 thread count sheets to build a fort? How about a life-size mechanical Santa that checks off the "Nice" children from his list? Oh, and his list had OUR names on it. Yes, Annie Boo had it all and shared it with everyone.

One of my fondest memories at Christmas was going through all her Christmas cards. She has lived in Norcross most of her life and would get hundreds of cards. She had a big felt Santa who's beard was a pouch that held cards. She would receive so many that Santa couldn't hold them all and they'd be stacked on the end table beneath him. Every year, Shari and I would go through each one. If we didn't know who the person was she would tell us who they were, how she knew them, and other little tid bits about them. We always wondered and asked about the cards that said, "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas", being too young to realize that not everyone celebrated Christmas, like us. Little did I know then that I would later become part of a multi-religion family and I would be "Happy Holidays".

Annie Boo suffers from severe Alzheimer's so I know she won't be reading this, but we are so sorry we missed her birthday and didn't get to come to Norcross and go through all those Christmas cards with her. Happy Birthday, Boo!

Our "Season's Greetings" card this year: