Happy 50th Birthday, Char

I love all three of my sisters and today is our sister, Charlotte’s, birthday. And it’s a milestone year at that! My sister is great. She’s involved in so many different things in her church and her community and she’s beloved by all who know her.

Here’s a photo of us that my husband took this January. That’s Char on the right.

Char’s love of ironing is surpassed by no one in their right mind, and we enjoy teasing her about it. Ironing just calms the dear girl’s nerves.

She is the perfect hostess and when you stay at her home, she leaves a set of towels on the dresser and a mint on the pillow. Ok, I’m lying about the mint.

When we were children, we used to pick on Char but I think she’s forgiven us. She couldn’t help it that she was our mother’s favorite, you know. She won all the “Be Nice Contests” that our mother would hold in her futile attempt at keeping her brood of seven children in control. Whomever was the “nicest child” that week would get to go out on a special dinner with our mother to McDonald’s, a rare treat for a family our size. Our father would have to stay home and babysit the rest of the children. After a few weeks of Char winning, and cream dried chipped beef as a consolation dinner for the rest of us, the contest was finally put to rest after we locked Char in a closet on the final day just to get her out of the running.

She had water.

And books.

And we were all punished when our parents found out. Well, I was punished. I was the eldest and besides (and I say this in a whisper) it was my idea.

Oh the horrors of youth! But despite the cruelties she suffered (not reallly), Char turned out to be a model citizen with a lovely family. Well, they’re mostly lovely. I wouldn’t use the words Dave (her husband) and lovely in the same sentence. He’d want me to say manly. Yes, Dave is manly. And he has a lot of gas.

So happy birthday, my sister! I love you.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Dave, you know it’s true.