Celebrating 101 Years!

The day of uncle's 101st Drive-By Birthday Celebration started out very ominously. The party was to be between 11:00-12:30.

This is what I saw at 8:00 in the morning and it did not improve one iota at 9:00. 

Not to worry said Art. "Look at the weather forecast."

"They're wrong 50% of the time," I countered.

"And how often have I been right," he insisted confidently.

"50% of the time," I smirked.

But just to make him happy, I looked at the radar map and this is what it was predicting.

I felt awful for the worry and anxiety my cousins must be feeling after reserving the park for the celebration and all the other preparations they must have made. I knew they had bought plate lunches for everyone who would be driving by.

After not being able to celebrate his 100th birthday last spring with the whole family, I hated to think this celebration would be postponed again.

At 9:15 AM, I saw a rainbow.

Could it be?

"Can I say I told you so?" asked Art.

🙄

At 10:30 Rain started.

Then my brother, nephews and their families started arriving so I passed out the posters and we drove to the park in a caravan.

It was 11:30 and no, the sun didn't come out and the drizzle didn't totally go away, but it was enough.

Uncle was excited and so very happy to see the huge gathering of friends and relatives who came with their best wishes, masked and as distanced as could be. Happily, all vulnerable people were vaccinated so it felt safe. My cousin told me that 19 vehicles showed up with over 50 people waving with happy smiles of love and admiration.

Since the cars were wet, we couldn't tape the posters to the vehicles and had to hold them up for uncle who was thrilled to see mom's Japanese printing. Uncle is a veteran of WWII having served his country as part of the MIS (Military Intelligence Corps) even while his father and eldest brother had been sent away to the mainland with other Japanese Americans and locked in Internment camps.

It was now time to celebrate his 101 years of trials, sadness, happiness, pride and now contentment in a life well lived in the loving embrace of the family who now honored him.

The happy day was also a time we enjoyed seeing so many relatives after a year apart.

And then the rain began.

It didn't matter. We all went home and had the lunches our cousins had given us. 

And we took a nap. When we woke up, the sun was shining high in the clear, blue Hawaiian sky.