Icing

I often wonder why the good lord chose to make me wait until later in my life to find the members of my Memphis family. I think I would not have appreciated them nor enjoyed them as much in my earlier care free years. As you have read here on numerous occasions the wonderfully special times I have had with this very tight knit group. Well get ready here comes another one!

Last night was the 61st birthday of my good friend who heads up the faction of the family that includes my claimed sister, his wife. They are the ones who are expecting the first grandchild. Well last night at his birthday celebration they revealed the sex of the chosen one. It was very cool evening. The Grand Parents to be had asked each guest to dress in either Pink or Blue depending on your guess, as to the Baby’s gender. My wife, Mother-in-Law and I were all in the Blue camp. To be honest the blues outnumbered the pinks almost 2 to one. At any rate that was the gist of the gathering.

What makes this a special thing is how they did it. The ultrasound was a week ago. They asked the nurse to make sure neither of them was able to see the sex of the child. As the nurse neared the area of revealing she told all to look away. The father asked can you tell? She said yes. He says it’s a boy? She said you can tell boy, or girl so do not read anything into her comment she only said she could tell. Then she placed the gender on a card sealed it into an envelope and they took it to a bakery. The bakery then made the Fathers birthday cake. The kicker? The middle layer of icing was either going to be pink for the girl or blue for the boy. The cake was Chocolate with chocolate icing so the middle layer would not be revealed until they actually cut the cake. Pretty cool idea if I do say so myself.

The crowd was large and the menu was fried Catfish and French fries so the crowd ate kind of in shifts to make sure all got hot food. When everyone was full of catfish and anticipation it was time to cut the cake. But first they had Tone the Bone say a prayer. Well folks I’m telling you this prayer was something straight from the good lord himself. You have heard of the lord speaking through people, well this was the case. It was a moment I will carry to my grave. Here is an 82 year old man, praying for his Great Grandchild. Tone, a strong man not only in stature but in character his voice cracking and quivering with each heartfelt word. The parents-to-be holding hands, tears streaming from their eyes, the Grandparents-to-be shaking as they tried, to no avail, to hold back the tears. The entire room almost in a trace as Tony prayed for this special child. A joyous moment I am so blessed to have shared with everyone else in that wonderful prayer circle. After a prayer of this origin there is always that moment when everyone lets the joy of the moment simply sweep into their soul and memory banks to recalled for all time.

Well now we cut the cake. The knife has 4 hands on it the grandparents and the parents. The first slice comes out and the color BLUE, the room erupts, the parents embrace. Everyone is hugging everyone, a happier scene there could not have been in the country. And yes the old blessed man was right in the middle of it.

As I think now, I realize why I had to wait until later in life to get to become a part of this amazing group. These are the people that you get to the finish line with, from my amazing supportive wife, whom I met later, to my supportive and loving Memphis family. They all will make my trip to the finish line a smooth and loving experience. I would hope we all will be able to say that in the end. It was a very blessed time. The moments I share with this group only get more special. I can’t wait until the next time this group takes my breath. I promise you will hear about it.

Well I’m off to get ready for another wonderful evening, what a blessing. I hope we are together for another 30 years. Can you die from a joy and love overdose? If so, I think I will try…

Peace,

The Blessed Man