Birthday parties

are not lavish affairs in this family. We didn't fuss too much about the Senior Cat's 99th yesterday. 

He didn't want a fuss at all. Middle Cat insisted we did "something".

As a result he now has two very large "9" shaped helium balloons in his room. He had cards from a number of friends - which I read to him. I made him a card of various events that occurred in the year he was born. (One of those was the start of building the Sydney Harbour Bridge.)

Middle Cat got a cake - which the Senior Cat did not want to eat. He has never been fond of cake. In order not to disappoint her he managed two small mouthfuls. 

My nephew here managed to do wondrous things with technology and brought up all the interstate family on a television screen so they could help "sing" Happy Birthday - close your ears. Well at least they all sounded much more in tune telling the Senior Cat how good it was to see him. 

And we managed to sneak in two non-family members - who were triple vaccinated with clear PCR tests. One of them is a former student of the Senior Cat who had been waiting for months to see him. 

The Senior Cat smiled and said all the right things. But he was absolutely and completely exhausted at the end of it all. I am going to prowl in later this morning and check on him...and read the cards to him again. I'll give the chocolate he was given by friends to the staff because he won't eat it. He whispered to me that this should happen. 

There won't be any more birthdays but I think/hope he really did enjoy it.