Birthday wish

In a few hours, on February 11th, I will turn 62 and what I wish for the most is phone calls from my sons and my sisters. It's funny how what you want for your birthday changes as you grow older...senior citizen older...especially when you live far away from loved ones. I know they'll all call because they always do and yet still it warms my heart to hear their voices.

I confess that I still get misty-eyed when I look at photos of them when they were little guys. Here's one of my profile shots of them obediently sitting on our hillside of grass, lupine and poppies in stairstep order because they want to make Mom happy:
It was May 1, 1985 and Timmy was 2, Ben was 4 and Nathan was 6.
And here they are, all a year older, standing in Johntown Creek on the Fourth of July in 1986.
And now they're all grown up and married...Cori, Nathan (31) and Drew...
...Noah, Ben (29) and Johanna...
Jolene and Tim (27).

My dear husband is going for a hike with me on the Placerville trail tomorrow, then we'll do some errands and then we'll have lunch at the Blackhawk Casino buffet. Disclaimer: I do not gamble, but casinos have great buffets and the price is always reasonable. Note to sons and sisters: I'll have my cell phone with me...hint hint.

Now, if only Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's threat that Iran is going to do something that will be like a punch in the face to the western world on February 11th does not actually materialize, then I will have a happy birthday!