Rant #2,498: Celebrate

This has been a rough stretch for my family.

We have had a lot of ups and downs the past three months or so, whether it is to me, personally, to my parents, and to my sister's family.

But yesterday, we put it all completely aside ... and I mean, completely.

My sister's birthday was December 26, and with all the hubbub of the holiday season and some other things, we were not able to celebrate it until yesterday.

And it was a special birthday, because my sister turned the ripe "old" age of 60.

So being her big brother, I planned a special occasion for her, and we were finally able to see it out yesterday afternoon.

The best way for me to describe it was that I went over her early years with her, before we moved to Long Island, the years that we shared a room together.

Yes, from her birth to the age of 11 or so, my sister and I had the same room, divided into two separate--but equal pieces.

Going over those early years of her life with her was fun, and it was highlighted by actual props from those years, which I found and purchased way before I lost my job. All of this added to the fun that I had describing those years--and those props--to the assembled audience, which included our two families, our parents, and our aunt, who herself was a major part of our younger years.

I put up the video of these shenanigans on Facebook, but as I write this, it is still being processed. I will furnish the link when it is available. My son took the video, and although I have not watched it yet myself, I am sure he did a great job recording the goings-on. He cut off the video too soon, but what we have is good enough!

My sister was astonished by the stuff that I remembered. Having such a good memory, I do remember so many different things that she had forgotten, so that was probably the most fun of the entire presentation.

And it was just all such fun. As I said, we have all been through a pretty rough time lately, and for a least a couple of minutes, we could all laugh and laugh and laugh some more.

We all have our peculiarities, and heaven knows that I had them too when growing up. My sister did too, and I highlighted them as well, in a really funny way.

My sister grew up and became an educator, handing children with disabilities, She is a tireless worker, and also runs a home with her husband of nearly 40 years. She has three sons, one living on the West Coast.

We don't often see eye to eye on everything, but the one thing that my sister and I share is the rule that family comes first. Family comes before everything else, and family matters are of the utmost importance. Nothing else matters if the family is in disarray. That is how we were brought up, and that is the one thing we definitely share.

She has not had an easy time, nor have I, juggling so many things at once. But who knew when we were sharing our room that the baseball bats and dolls would give way to marriages and kids and everything that went with these things?

Such is life. My sister and I were the true All-American kids, and we have tried to be All-American adults too. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

But the road to get there has certainly been interesting and fun, and it had to start somewhere, and this is what I spoke about yesterday.

My sister enjoyed it immensely. She is not one for her own birthday. and certainly not for milestone birthdays. But I "warned" her that this one would be fun, and it turned out to be just that.

Family is family. There are no two ways about it.

And I do love my sister.

So here's to her, and I haven't yet planned anything for No. 65 ... I've got five years to worry about that.

(The videos were finally posted! They are at https://www.facebook.com/LarryLapka/videos/pcb.10221523626178326/10221523614258028/?type=3&theater and part two is at https://www.facebook.com/LarryLapka/videos/10221524082389731/.)