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Two 80th Birthdays

September 4, 2024 By D'Ann Mateer

We spent last week celebrating two new octogenarians! 

My mom turned 80 on August 28. We celebrated big in July, with much of the family enjoying Park City, Utah, for a few days. But Mom was quick to remind us during that vacation that she wasn’t 80 yet! 

On her actual birthday, we gathered a few of the grandchildren who were unable to make it to Utah as well as all three of her great-grandchildren for dinner and a low-key celebration of the actual day. We thought the bouquet of cookies turned out well! As you can see, she enjoyed the evening. 

The next morning, we boarded a plane to Pennsylvania. Jeff’s dad turned 80 that Saturday, but when he arrived at my sister-in-law’s house in Reading on Friday, he got the surprise of us being there! A few hours later, another surprise—our daughter had driven down from Boston for the weekend, too! 

We had fun celebrating him on Saturday with lots of food and decorations and yummy cupcakes made by our niece. 

Needless to say, it’s been a whirlwind of activity for the past week! And lest you think that now I get to rest (or even write!), I am off to New Orleans tomorrow to attend the ACFW Conference. I never imagined I’d live such an on-the-go life! 

Do you have any trips planned for this fall? 

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D'Ann Mateer

Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

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Comments

  1. Joy says

    September 4, 2024 at 5:54 am

    How fun to read that you were in my neck of the woods. I’m about 15 miles from Reading. I’ll have to keep an eye out for you in the halls at ACFW. I’ll be there for StoryFest. I’m looking forward to it!

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      September 4, 2024 at 8:01 am

      Yes! I would love to meet you in person! 🙂

  2. Robin Lee Hatcher says

    September 4, 2024 at 6:06 am

    Your mom looks incredibly young for 80. I was looking in the first photo and wondered why the birthday girl wasn’t there. It was the photo with the great grands that told me who she was. Happy birthday to them both. Have fun at ACFW.

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      September 4, 2024 at 8:02 am

      Yes, neither she nor my dad look their ages! (Dad is 86!)

  3. Deborah Raney says

    September 4, 2024 at 6:15 am

    What Robin said! I would never have guessed your mom to be 80! Two great celebrations! And I can’t wait to see you in New Orleans!

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      September 4, 2024 at 8:03 am

      Can’t wait to see you, too! Yes, I hope I got her good aging genes!

  4. Janice Laird says

    September 4, 2024 at 3:06 pm

    Enjoy NOLA! I originally planned to attend, but my daughter set her wedding date for that same weekend. Make sure to visit Jackson Square for a great dose of history.Beignets for everyone!

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      September 4, 2024 at 5:59 pm

      A wedding is much more fun!! Yes, definitely some beignets!!

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