Our Final Celebration...

It took until our last night, but I finally had a nice photo taken with my sister.

The teens were happy to have one last feast together.

What a wonderful way to end an amazing week. Jimmy took the opportunity to tell some stories about me and got everyone else involved with making toasts in honor of my upcoming 50th birthday. I spent much of the night crying, mostly from laughing too hard but also tears of joy. One toast in particular was so touching that I asked John for a copy:

The White Light

“And in the beginning there was light.”

We saw the White light from afar, a welcoming glow that drew us in.
Dazzling, surprising it danced to a merry tune.
But our English reserve held us back
And we retreated to the safe shadows, still curious.

New young shafts of White light grew brighter by the day.
Like moths we emerged from the dark, mesmerized by the flickering flame.
And we followed the light far and wide: France, Spain, England, Croatia
And we bathed in its warm glow, and it united us.

We realized we did not need to follow the light but simply embrace it
And we started to glow and our own light shone.
For we are all rays of light in this wonderfully diverse world
And we are grateful to the White light for helping us shine!