The Best Birthday Gift Ever

I had a wonderful birthday today, full of presents and phone calls from family. When I had a minute, I Googled January 3, and found out that many famous people were born on this date, including J.R.R. Tolkien and Mel Gibson.


Their greatness, however, pales in comparison to the greatest man in history to share my birthday - my grandfather. He was an influential man. He was vice-president of BA Oil, which became Gulf, then Petro-Canada. At Christmas, he received cards from former Prime Ministers and other heads of state. He was retired before his youngest son, my father, graduated high school.


Of course, I cared about none of these things when I was a little girl. I thought he was cool because he beat me at Rummy, took me to Shriners Christmas parties, and smoked a pipe.

Every year on January 3rd, he would phone me up and tell me that he was my birthday present, and I was his. What a gift - from my earliest days, I knew I was dearly loved! Grandpa has been gone for 10 years now, but he continues to be my greatest gift.

Grandpa holding me on my first birthday