Birthday gifts good and bad, and a big thanks to my Facebook friends

I consider it a birthday gift that the new royal prince was born on my birthday. I shared a birthday with Rose Kennedy too and always liked that. But I had a bad birthday gift late this afternoon when my oldest son called from Houston to say he was talking to Jordan, his youngest sister, when she screamed, then he heard nothing for a long while, until she came back and said she’d been in a bad accident but thought she was alright. I called Christian who knew nothing about it and rushed to the scene. Elizabeth  came in from her apartment to hold my hand while I waited for news. A group email among the family ensued but the end result is that her airbag deployed, she’s fine and alert (I think paramedics checked her over), and as Christian said, “The good news is someone is getting a new car.” Praise be to God! Picture of the car is frightening.

Our happy hour and dinner  plans (LaMadeleine) got scrapped. Initial reports that she was all right were sort of cancelled when I found out she had been taken to ER and sent for x-rays. Everything is okay, but she will be stiff and sore for a few days, and she’s bruised and scraped from airbag and seat belt—but they saved her life, so thank God for them. The other driver got the ticket—police said no question. He gunned it, in a heavy utility vehicle, out of WalMart parking lot toward a crossover without looking.

Elizabeth and I took Jacob home—so grateful I had gotten him and he wasn’t in her car—and got to hug Jordan (gently) and see that she’s okay. Her walk is stiff, and she has a headache, but she’s okay--or will be in a few days. And I’m proud of her for holding it together and not giving in to panic. She did the same, taking complete charge, the day I had a TIA. There's great strength there that she doesn't always show. Don't show her a cockroach, but when the chips are down, she's good.

I meant this post to be a thank-you to Facebook. I have friends who say it’s a foolish waste of time and they can’t be bothered. I want to tell them what they’re missing. I have never felt so appreciated, with so many friends, from people I hold dear to people I’ve never met, friends from Sisters in Crime and Guppies, some of whom I correspond with often and some not much at all. Greetings have popped up from all over, some clever and funny, some full of wishes for many more, some from people who were in my life years ago. It’s kept me at my computer almost all day, without accomplishing any real work. A great birthday, and I so wished I could acknowledge each one individually but it just couldn't be done.

So to all of you who wished me happy birthday on Facebook and by email, I can’t tell you how much it means to me.  I will remain a dedicated Facebook user and will be much more attentive about sending birthday wishes.