She Made It.

My grandmother turned 80 today.

There were many, many times over the past five years when we thought she wouldn't make it to the next milestone. "She probably won't be here for Christmas/her birthday/my birthday/your birthday/the next school holidays..." And yet, here we are, on her 80th birthday.

We had all of her children (and a couple of ring-ins, like myself) up for a birthday party last Saturday, and against all odds a good-time was had by all. Considering we had to celebrate her 80th in the hospital gardens with a picnic at 4:30 in the afternoon, it went down very well.

There were lots of stories and reminiscences. My grandmother even managed to get a lot of the details right (they've been shifting around a bit as she got older). We were worried that she might have been too out of it to appreciate what was going on, but she woke up enough to have a great time (we think it might have had something to do with the interaction between the wine and her medications, but that's beside the point).

The really great thing was that everyone got together for a celebration of her life while she was still here to join in. So much better than waiting for her to die and coming together for her wake.

I'd recommend it to anyone - if a loved one's continued existence is in doubt, throw them a party while they're still with you. No matter how small or low key, it will mean more to all involved than the biggest posthumous celebration you could possibly put together.

Today, her actual birthday, was pretty much like any other Tuesday, only with more flowers involved. But, she's still here, and in a way that was a present for us. She made it.