As a lot of you know, it was Pegs' birthday today, her 36th. When I got to the office this morning I had already received a number of e-mails and Facebook posts expressing birthday greetings and well-wishes, and they continued to come in throughout the day. Thanks so much to everyone who wrote, called, texted, posted or otherwise took a moment of your day to think about Pegs.
When Pegs and I first met, she told me that she wasn't particularly big on birthdays. She said that name days were more important in her family, as were religious holidays; birthdays were typically a more muted affair. But in 2009, as Pegs was finishing up her first series of chemotherapy treatments, she told me that she wanted a big party for her birthday that year: lots of friends, food, drinks ... the works. Unfortunately, she didn't express this desire until her birthday was already upon us, a moment when I was coming home from the office well past midnight every night. Fortunately, Pegs' friend Brooke swooped in to the rescue and helped me find a great venue: a rooftop apartment with a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower. I booked a caterer, bought a bunch of booze and invited all of our anglophone friends in Paris, and in short order we had ourselves a birthday party. It might just have been the champagne, but as I recall everyone had a great time, especially Pegs. It was so wonderful to see her happy that night after all she had been through; she was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her, and she was able to forget about all of her worries and just enjoy herself for the first time in a long while. For those of you who were there, thank you so much for helping to make that night so special; for those who couldn't be there, I hope that you can appreciate how happy Pegs was in the pictures below. Happy birthday, my love.
4 comments:
I've been thinking about Pegs and missing her a lot all day today. Thank you for putting up this post of her birthday party. That was a really great night. I'm so glad I actually took some photos for once!
Such beautiful pictures - looks like it was a fantastic party!
Lee, Thanks for sharing that story and those photos. It certainly looks like a good time was had by all.
That was a fantastic party! We had so much fun. And Panagiota looks so beautiful. A particularly good party for having been thrown together at the last minute. I think I have a photo of the balloon Tour Eiffel we made somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it up. Dave and I got sent home with a bunch of leftovers and ate nothing but appetisers and maple cupcakes for three days. Such fun. Happy Birthday, Doll, we miss you.
Brooke
Post a Comment