Nani and Grandpa's 55th Anniversary Party

It was yet another scrumptious evening at Nani and Grandpa's favorite restaurant, La Panetiere, where we celebrated their 55th anniversary as well as Grandpa's 85th birthday.  The room was so lovely, decorated in the style of Provence and set in a beautiful old house built in the 1800's.  French doors opened up to a sweet balcony where we sipped wine and savored French delicacies.  The three-course meal was delicious, and long, but even a totally exhausted Ethan managed to make it to the well-worth-it dessert.  Cami had great fun sitting at a separate table with all of her big cousins, while Ethan preferred my lap, but the highlight of the evening for all of the children was watching three baby raccoons who appeared on the balcony (behind our bench!) early on and stayed through dinner.

There were sentimental, tender, gushing and even silly toasts spoken, and to everyone's delight (but mostly his own) Ethan clinked a wine glass with his spoon and hammed it up, repeatedly.  His final toast, at eleven o'clock, "Let's go home!" called an official end to the evening.  I never make public toasts, but if I had, I would have said something like this: Grandpa, at eighty-five, is as warm, witty, charming, and entirely as adorable as he was when I met him at seventy-seven.  And whether he's telling dirty jokes or making prank phone calls, his sense of humor bubbles like a teenager's.  I wonder which played the biggest role -- genetics, upbringing, hard work, planetary alignment...  Whatever it was, the end result is an extraordinary man with a remarkable story (you'll have to read his memoir for details) who has achieved great success in every aspect of his life.  He has traveled the globe, helped, healed and profoundly touched the lives of millions; met some of the most interesting and important people in the world, and has been blessed with good health and happiness (knock on H's head).  He planted, cultivated and raised a large and happy family that continues to grow and blossom around him.  HIS BIGGEST, MOST IMPORTANT SUCCESS, OF COURSE, IS NANI!

Everything was possible for him because his magical Camilla was always by his side. Never ever ever EVER have I met a more selfless, more compassionate, more kind, more generous, more thoughtful, more lovely human being than Nani (well, maybe my husband, but that's her doing, too!).  Devoting herself entirely to the happiness, comfort and support of everyone who crosses her path (and for the past fifty-five years Grandpa's been taking up most of that path), putting everyone ahead of herself, always...  Words just don't cut it here.  Nani is more beautiful than her most exquisite orchid, and it's no wonder that Grandpa loves her as much today as he did the moment he met her.  And no matter how many times he tells us the story of their first meeting, how for him it was love at first sight and how he had to steal her away from a serious boyfriend...  No matter how many times, we never tire of listening, because a love story like theirs happens once in a thousand years.