"Get Your Kicks....."

"If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on route 66." Bobby Troup
Gee, if I'd done any planning ahead, I might have opted to celebrate my 66th going west on Route 66. It is a route Bud & I have taken several times, getting off I-40 and driving some of the original highway where it is still possible. We both appreciate the history associated with the mother road.
But I'm celebrating my 66th at home and instead of a birthday cake, I'm taking a page from my daughter-in-law's book and having a piece of coconut cream pie.
I don't remember any particular birthday cake, though Mom always made one for our birthdays; often an angel food. My 13th birthday cake was "white cake, yellow frosting with colored candies on top." My 14th was "green cake, frosting and decorations". Mom had one of those cake decorating utensils where you could change the tip to make different designs, flowers, etc. When I could, I would talk her into buying the fancy decorations you had to dampen and peel off the paper. Those seemed prettier and more professional to me.
There are a few birthdays that stand out: my 18th because Kenny & I were married that night. It was a Saturday. My 21st: Kenny & Doug & I went to Kansas City to visit Kenny's sister & family. Marjo had a babysitter for our kids so we could go out to celebrate. I was really looking forward to legally ordering a drink. The server asked for my i.d. I showed my driver's license and he said, "Sorry we can't serve you unless you have a birth certificate." What? Whoever heard of such a thing?
My 30th was celebrated with dinner and dancing in the rotating restaurant atop the Holiday Inn in Des Moines. I also celebrated it by having all my long hair cut off. I think it was called a pixie cut.
I remember my 34th as being one of my best birthdays. I don't remember why, specifically, just that it was fun.
Birthdays have often been a time of reflection for me. On both my 50th and 60th I took weekend retreats by myself to meditate and journal. My 50th retreat was at Camp Wesley Woods near Indianola. It was a great place to hike and be alone. My 60th was at Lake Icaria in one of their new cabins. Again, it was a good place for communing with nature. Being around water has always been important to me. Maybe because of Scorpio being a water sign.
This year my best birthday gift will be having my great grandson out of NICU and holding him for the first time. I hope I don't have to wait too long.