Happy Birthday, Mother!

My mother turned 62 today. Birthdays are big deal in Albania. My mother and I love to celebrate birthdays, and desire that our birthdays are celebrated with a big boom. Elijah volunteers as a temple worker at the temple on Tuesdays, so we began mom's birthday celebration yesterday. We took the whole family to a steakhouse downtown Walnut Creek called Fleming's. We had not been there before, but had wanted to try it out so we decided that was the place. As soon as we entered it, we were impressed with its atmosphere, nice service and table settings. This last one was very important as my mother will not sit and eat in a restaurant where the tables aren't covered with table cloths. We have no idea where this particularity comes from since my mother grew up mostly in boarding schools. We can only infer that she is factitious by nature. She used to make me iron every single pillow case, sheets, napkins, table cloths, and even underwear. Weird, but neat.

Anyways, she loved the restaurant as soon as we sat down. It was funny when we tried to look through the menu. We kept turning page after page to find the food selection. The three fourth of the menu consisted of wine selections, and only the last pages had information on the food. But whatever food they offered, it was cooked in perfection. I would highly recommend it. It is a bit pricey, but absolutely worth it. It is best to just go as a couple and not accompanied by kids. Our older children did fine, but Charlton kept wanting to try every body's food and as such would cause a bit of discomfort for the rest of us.
After enjoying this delicious meal, we stopped for ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery in Pleasant Hill. Charlton wanted his own ice cream and didn't want to share with anybody. That boy knows how to eat. When we arrived home, the children lined up with presents in hand and took turns giving their grandmother presents they had helped select with a bit of guidance by mom. Gillian gave her a pretty necklace; Jefferson had chosen some perfume; James had chosen to buy her and himself a pair of sun glasses. As for Charlton and me, we gave her a pretty gray sweater she could match with Gillian's necklace. Elijah had bought her specific candy from Trader Joe's that had peanut butter filling, since my mother loves peanut butter. I think Lili was very happy.
Today, we bought her an Ice cream cake. Lili loves ice cream, so it made sense to buy her an ice cream cake. I wasn't mistaken; she loved it. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her and shared our love for her with hugs and kisses. The birthday celebration was a hit, and my mother really enjoyed herself.