Celebrating Life

Mom was dressed up and ready when I arrived with a huge bouquet of flowers to celebrate her birthday yesterday. We chatted for a couple hours, I shared all the wedding photos with her before Michael arrived to drive us to her special luncheon.

She chose a restaurant near her home that had a rather colorful history. It was built in 1915 as part of the Japanese Exhibition at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in commemoration of the opening of the Panama Canal. A land Baron bought the building and had it barged down the bay to Belmont where he and his family lived for three lives. Later, mules and horses hauled it up the hill where it currently sits, overlooking the bay. It was sold and later became a speakeasy during Prohibition and a known gambling spot plus rumors of business upstairs, so to speak. It changed hands again in 1945 and became an Italian Restaurant and is currently owned by the family of one of those two partners. Through the years, Michael and I have bumped into members of the 49er football and Giants baseball teams having dinner at this historic place.

They treated mom like a queen. Chocolate was involved! She later thanked us for making her birthday such a special day.

In other news: I heard from the woman waiting for a lung transplant that her transfer to the university hospital happened as planned excepted that her lung collapsed again. The poor thing! That is so painful. She is scheduled for a 6-minute walk test today and that will determine the change to her listed number for lung transplants. Just being in the hospital will help her jump up the list but if her 6-minute walk test is as horrible as I think it will be, she might zoom to the top. Sending good thoughts her way.