Celebrating 50 - D by denise

On the morning of my 49^th birthday (over a mimosa!), my dear friend Kristi asked “so what are we going to plan for your 50^th?” Oh my gosh – fifty – that was suppose to be my mom’s age, not mine! But in reality, it was only a year away.

As I gave it thought over the following months, I was not sure what or if I wanted to do anything other than our family celebration. I love birthday celebrations – but perhaps this one would slide under the radar.

Then, during a drive to the cottage at Easter last year it occurred to me: celebrating 50 was not just about me, it was about all the women in my life that helped me get here! Along with a family celebration, it was going to be a celebration of sisterhood – a girl’s party. With that in mind, I was able to quickly create a guest list of amazing women who I:

Spent my favourite high schools years with,
Studied in University and received an accounting designation with,
Celebrated marriage and pregnancies with,
Raised children together with,
Cried with when heartbreaking challenges had entered our lives,
Laughed with until our bellies hurt or until we laughed so hard we cried,
Danced and sang into the night (to ’70s and ’80s music) with,
Travelled with,
Engaged in deep conversation with regarding balancing career and family, and
Just simply admired, who made me smile and made me happy in their company.

Of course, there were several amazing women who couldn’t be there as they lived far away – but were certainly in my heart as I thought through turning 50.

With the help of Kristi and my girlfriend Cindy (both awesome event co-ordinators!), we began to plan the celebration. I had the vision of being a young girl going to a girlfriend’s birthday party back in the 1960’s. From the invitation, the party dress, Barbie doll cake, games, money in the birthday cake, candy, and the loot bag – it was a birthday party with adult girlfriends! The Breakfast at Tiffany’s theme became lunch at Denise’s – celebrating the best of the ‘60s:

A classic little black dress (LBD) and pearls,
’60s food (fancy sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, devilled eggs, Ritz crackers and cheese, and marshmallow butterscotch squares),
Drinks (bubbly and wine),
A Barbie cake baked with quarters in it,
Candy (jujubes, gobstoppers, and candy necklaces/bracelets),
The music (a ’60s playlist),
The “loot bag”, with an adult twist (mini Prosecco bottles with sample Avon lipsticks…remember playing dress up with Avon mini lipsticks?!), and
Games were considered, however, musical chairs was not going to work and George Clooney was unavailable for “pin the tail on the hunk” – so instead it was a round of Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island trivia (with the winner coming away with a bottle of bubbly).

The Friday afternoon in June came quickly and the day was beautiful, warm and sunny. Our living and dining room was transformed into a 1960’s Tiffany Blue party space with balloons, flowers, and goodies. I cranked the ’60s playlist, put on my LBD and favourite red lipstick, threw on my pearls and put a fun tiara on my head (a “princess hat” according to my cousin Jim). I felt like Audrey Hepburn! My girlfriends began to arrive. It was a party of sisterhood – exactly what I hoped for and what felt right. I was surrounded by strong women I love in many different ways, the ones you know would be there if you called in the middle of the night.

As I looked around the room and made a toast to all of them, I felt so happy, grateful, and most importantly very privileged to have each and every one of them in my life. It was a feeling we all deserve to experience every now and again. We are all women with hopes, dreams, sorrows, successes, and challenges.

We are a sisterhood and we need to take time to celebrate. Why? Because we can!

Cheers to all of you and your sisterhoods!