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| Happy Bea Day |
We celebrated my Mom’s 85th birthday at my brother and sister-in-law’s home in Westfield, New Jersey on May 19, 2012. Enjoying a birthday is chance to stop and acknowledge life. It is a wonderful reminder of the blessings of every moment. Since Mom and the cast from Madmen are BFF, we decided to make this a celebration in the style of a 1960’s party. Although Don, Betty and the cast couldn’t make it, we did have a full house filled with those who have known and loved Mom for many years.
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| The Invitation |
Celebrating a birthday with a party is not new to my mother. From her earliest years, she was fortunate to have a loving family that celebrated each and every year with cake, gifts and a song. But of course in the Ginsberg family, there was always a photograph of each event. Recently while visiting with Mom, we walked through her “morgue of photographs” that were stored in her basement. I took home a handful of them to scan and enjoy. It occurred to me that putting them online on my blog, allows me to share them with my friends, family and in fact, the world.
So enjoy this album of photos from 1927 to 2012. This “digital book” of photos spans Mom’s first birthday to the recent party to celebrate #85.
We love you Mom and happy birthday. Now, on to 86!
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| Beatrice Ginsberg’s 1st Birthday May 22, 1928 |
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| 6th birthday in West Philadelphia on Catherine Street |
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| 10th birthday May 22, 1937 |
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| Sweet Sixteen – May 22, 1943
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| Mom turns 21- May 22, 1948
A Book of BEAutiful Photos from the Day |
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| Madmen give Bea a heads up |
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| Georgia and Jeff |
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| Fanny, Diane and Bea |
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| Celia, Bea and Laura |
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| Mom and Mitch |
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| Mom, Leslie and little Jessie |
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| Florence Turen, a Corona, and Mom |
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| Mom and Tommy |
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| Al and Norma Schaffer with Mom |
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| Mom with her sister-in-law Lolly Winick |
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| Mom, Jeff, Mitch and Diane |
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| Fanny Slater and Mom |
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| Diane and Juliet (her granddaughter) |
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| Mom (pearls) and Mitch (Fedora) |
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| Shayna Punim |
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| Georgia |
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| Fanny back from LA LA Land |
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| Mom and Sweet Juliet |
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| Table set from 1960’s look Note the pretzels on the ruler. A reference to Mr. McCauley, the custodian from The Bryant School in West Philadelphia. He used to bring the kids pretzels on a ruler for snacks. |
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| The sweet prince rests before the party – Henry is Bea’s Great Grandson |
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| Nailing it! |
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| Fanny is welcomed back East by Jessie |
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| Juliet and Grandma Di |
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| Backyard barbecue |
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| Blue Brothers (Great Uncle Jeff and Henry) |
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| Mr. Henry |
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| Speaking of parties |
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| Gift from the grandchildren |
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| Scrabble Family |
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| Words of love about Bea |
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| Thank you from Bea |
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| Wait…I’m not through eating! |
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| Bea on the Ice Cream Truck |
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| Grandpa Jerry blows bubbles with Henry |
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| Happy Bea Day |
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| Bea’s Two Sons- Mitch and Jeff |
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| Diane and Jeff |
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Henry the Great
Photo courtesy of Joanie Schwartz |
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Juliet, Henry and Bea
Photo courtesy of Joanie Schwartz |
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| Cuvee Beatrice |
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| Speaking of Mitch |
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| A toast to you |
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| You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much confetti jello mold |
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| Knitting a story together |
Diane’s speech to Mom:
In order to be an accomplished knitter one has to understand a few important details. Being my mom is similar however children don’t come with instructions as knitters always have a pattern to follow.
First of all in order to knit you usually need two needles. In life we know it takes two to start a family and we all know that my mom and dad got that part right!
In knitting you start by casting on stitches, then you connect the yarn from needle to needle. My mom and dad cast on three children and together we added three spouses and six grandchildren. In knitting terms you would see k2tog, that means knit two stitches together and now there are 2 great grandchildren.
In the fabric of life just like in knitting you have to work your pattern evenly. It is called gauge. You don’t want your stitches too tight or too loose and this is not always easy to do! You want to be in total control. Hmm…now that sounds just like my mom! She knit us together so well, and we all know what a close knit family we have become. Some of us live in different states however we are all connected just like the stitches on her needles.
There are two basic knitting stitches: the knit stitch and the purl. You can see the difference as the purl has a little bump in the front. It represents the little bumps in the road that every family has to endure. My mom has had her share, but she has continued to knit and keep us together in spite of these challenges and losses.
My mom has knit blankets, vests, sweaters, hats, scarves, socks and ponchos to keep us warm. Most of them are done on two needles. Her biggest, most recent labor of love was an extra large afghan, knit using a round needle. With this special needle she created the circle of life, as the afghan will allow Garret, Jessica and Juliet to cuddle up on warm nights. By the way she previously made one for Jaime, Scott and Henry. Anyone here who has received a handmade gift from my mom knows that it was made with love, it might keep you warm, it will stay with you forever and it makes you a part of her close knit world. If she hasn’t made you something let her know, she loves a project.
Some other things my 85 year old mom can do besides knit are:
Use a computer, send email, forward email, use Facebook , print pictures, work a DVD, work a DVR, use a cell phone and retrieve messages, read on a Kindle, drive to the knitting store, cook a turkey, order a Millburn Deli sandwich, never miss a Friday with Tommy, scratch off and win a lottery ticket, write a thank you note….one could say she’s a Jack of all trades!
It seems every five years we gather to celebrate my mother’s birthday! This year Mom has both of her great grand children Henry and Juliet to share her special day. It doesn’t get better than that.
Mitchell took you to see Bruce Springsteen however I had Paul McCartney name his daughter Beatrice after you
I guess in your day we’d be seeing Frank Sinatra.
I also arranged to have a character named Ginsberg on Mad Men!
Speaking of Mad Men that of course is the era we grew up during and I know how much you love the show. The fellows at Sterling Cooper Draper Price all regret that they are too busy creating too join us today. Personally I think they are full of Hamm and beans! Happy Birthday Mom!
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| Fanny speaks for me |
My Speech: As usual, I was too overwhelmed with emotion to read my speech. In my family, when I get up to speak, out come the tissues. Luckily I had a spare actress with me: Fanny. She read one of my blog posts called Being Bea that can be found at this link.
What a glorious and wonderful day it was and how lucky we all are to Bea together.
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| Hap BEA Birthday Mom |
And a few short movie clips:
A few words from Bea
A few more words from Bea
Part of Diane’s speech
Happy Birthday to You
Henry chases bubbles
