I just celebrated a big birthday last week. I honestly was pretty overwhelmed by all the love that I received from friends and family to mark the big event.

My kids made wonderful dinners during the weekend before, and even managed to find a recipe for a long lost Ebinger’s Hard Icing Chocolate Layer Cake, which was the cake my mother bought to celebrate all family birthdays in my youth. Ebinger’s was a very well known bakery in Brooklyn, where I grew up. Thanks to research on Google and with AI, my kids recreated that cake to perfection.

They also put together a slide show from photos they had of me in my youth and in adulthood–with my husband (now deceased), mother, father and sister (also deceased), other family members (ditto), and more recent family events with my son and daughter, their spouses and my grandchildren. It was pretty amazing. And overwhelming.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they reached out to friends and family members to contribute any thoughts, anecdotes, or memories they might have of me over the years and compiled them into a book. I didn’t even have to die to hear such nice comments that might ordinarily be shared at a funeral. It was extraordinarily wonderful.

I am pretty overwhelmed by all that love and grateful for what was a truly incredible birthday. Love truly is what it’s all about. I wish it for you.