Happy Birthday to me

So this it. I am 50. Strange how everything feels exactly the same it did yesterday. Hahahaha. I had a great day even though as I suspected a number of people forgot it was my birthday today. I'm sure I'm going to be getting the usual apologetic calls and sms-es tomorrow or even the day after. Then there will be the handful who will think forever more that my birthday is on 10th Nov :)

I had two surprises today - a huge bouquet of chocolates that Neena sent me - 50 of them with the express command that I am not to share them. Hahaha - Neen can you imagine what I would look like if I did? But it was a sweet thing to do though if I could have chosen, I would have preferred you at my party than the chocs:) And a lovely orchid plant from my student Anitha. Thanks a lot my dear. It was a lovely surprise & again, I wish you could come :)

Then in the evening, my sisters threw me a great party. It was a strange experience for me, being the reason why my sisters had gathered. To be honest, I had mixed feelings - I was really, really touched at the fact that they have all made the effort to come all the way to celebrate my 50th. But also saddened a little by the fact that a number of them struggled to remember something about me. The most anecdotes about me had to do with me being sick or being taken to hospital :) My sister Mena, however, wrote a really lovely 'poem' that showed me how she, among all my sisters, had been so much a part of my life. But this is an aspect of my family life that I have come to accept - that it was just the way things were, that my parents were so old when I was born and my sisters had all left home to pursue their studies / career or to start their own families while I was growing up and I was always on the periphery of things. And it was as my nephew Vijay said - that my nieces and nephews seemed more like my siblings than my sisters and although I was the youngest in my family, I was often in the role of being the 'eldest' among my nephews and nieces. And I must admit I did my fair share of bullying of my nieces and nephews :) Speaking of whom, I was really really really happy and touched that my niece Mala made a surprise trip all the way from New Zealand to be at my birthday. She flew in this morning and walked into my party. What a lovely, lovely surprise.

Anyway, it was a great evening. My brother-in-law cooked, we played games, we reminiscenced, we had cake - it was a delicious banana-choc fudge from Awfully Chocolate - and it was lots of fun. My sisters bought me the sari I am wearing in the pics as well as a very pretty bracelet. Here are the pics of the cake, the gift and of me and my sisters in all our glory :)