It's my turn, finally.

Just imagine, you wake up on your birthday or graduation day and you stumble with wild hair going every which way with wrinkles all over your pajamas,
out to the dining room for some breakfast. At your place setting, your eyes are drawn to it, there it is in all it's glory....drum roll please.....the Special Day Plate! You smile, you then realize you are exempt from doing dishes for the day. You are doing the happy dance. Something special is about to happen. Either you retired from the Army after 22 years, or you got the lead in a school play, or you got your college acceptance letter or it's your birthday or Father's day or you finally mastered that elusive skate board trick.

When the boys were growing up and something remarkable or special happened or there
was some reason to celebrate, they would come home and tell us and then ask
if they could have the special day plate. Sure, sounds like a great idea.

Always, you get it on your birthday. period. You get a raise, sure, Special Day plate. You get a strike while bowling, yes siree Bob, you get to use the Special Day plate. Sometimes, being surprised with it popping up at a restaurant or someone else's home, or on a picnic, but by golly you always got it.

Don't fret now, our family has two. Always, just in case two people needed to
celebrate on the same day!

A couple years ago, when son number 2 landed the "dream job". I made one
using a paper plate and copied the design with crayons and colored pencils and
sent it in a padded envelope through the mail to him in another state. When we later visited his home, I saw it leaned up against the kitchen back splash, made me smile.

Last Christmas we purchased two new plates. Now D & G and G & M get to use their own Special Day Plates. I hope they have many, many reasons to celebrate. I hope they learned the lesson that by using it, somehow it makes the big celebrations brighter and gives the little reasons to celebrate so much more sparkle.

For some stupid reason, since Mom's are usually the one's to remember to
get it out of the cupboard and use it and Mom's don't retire and Mom's don't get raises and this Mom did not perfect a skate board trick or try out for a play.........sadly they are usually the one's that don't get to use it too much.

My time has come. Today IS the day. Today, I celebrate. Today, I don't have
to do the dinner dishes. Today, I put the final stitch in the label of my quilt. Yes, that quilt. The one that took 18 years, 375 plus hours of hand qulting, many spools of thread, too many to count bent needles and yards of binding. It is done. It is complete. It is my turn.

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, you find the perfect thing
to celebrate. .... and oh does it feel good. I will be lifting my crystal goblet
filled with Sparkling Cider during dinner tonight.

Cheers!