She Did It!!

Arvetta turned 100! Thursday, July 17, 2008 was Arvetta's 100th birthday. (In a previous post, I explained my connection with Arvetta). The following Sunday Arvetta's niece, Jackie and Jackie's daughter, Jane gave Arvetta a birthday party. Many generations of Arvetta's friends and family were there to celebrate this milestone with her. My parents and my brother and his family came to celebrate with her as well. It was a nice party. My kids brought her balloons and a card and they wanted to sing Happy Birthday to her, but with the crowd of people in the room and the amount of people wanting to talk to her it just wasn't fesiable. We love Arvetta very much and hope to celebrate many more birthdays with her! Funny note--there were three sets of twins at the party. There was a set of 8 year old boy/girl twins who had a 10 year old, older brother. There was a set of 3 year old fraternal girls with their 5 year old, older brother and our set of 2 year old fraternal girls and their 4 year old, older brother. There seems to be an older brother pattern in the twins that Arvetta knows:).

Touching the life of another

For those of you that know me even a little bit have heard the name Arvetta from time to time over the years. Arvetta is the lady that lived next door throughout my childhood. She and her husband, Kermit (who died in 1980) purchased their home the same day my parents purchased their home and ended up living right next door to each other. My brother, Paul, and I spent lots of time at Arvetta's house through the years. She kept us sometimes when our parents went out and we would go over just to visit. She became somewhat of a Grandmother to us. Our Grandparents lived far away and we did not see them as often as we would see Arvetta.

Friday night I took the kids over to see Arvetta for a while. She now lives in an assisted living apartment at Bridgewater Home. We had a great visit and she read to the kids like she used to read to my brother and me when we were kids. She even read "Nobody Listens To Andrew." She read that to Paul and me many, many times!!! In less than a month, July 17 to be exact, Arvetta will be 100 years old. Her mind is still very sharp and she walks with a little assistance from her walker. Her hearing has dwindled over the past few years, but she is still just as pleasant to be around. We love her very much!!