Happy Birthday, Gladys!
For my family, friends and myself, January signifies a myriad of birthdays. No kidding — hardly a day goes by this month for us where we aren’t celebrating someone’s birthday, or planning to celebrate, or celebrating a day early or a day late, or even waiting until the weekend to party. Between Hallmark, the cake department at Sullivan’s, the stamps on the birthday cards, and the Internet and Facebook ... the wishes are many.
Think I’m exaggerating? Without looking at my calendar, I know of birthdays on Jan. 6, Jan. 9, Jan. 10, Jan. 11, Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 14, Jan. 16, Jan. 18, Jan. 19, Jan. 20 ... Do I need to go on? And that’s just the first three weeks of the month!
One of those aforementioned dates belong to me. As I’ve grown older, there was a place in time when I dreaded the onset of another birthday, another year older. But after a life and death scare nearly five years ago, I welcome each birthday like I welcome a sunny day in the middle of winter. “Bring ‘em on,” is what I say now. The more the merrier. (Don’t ask me how old I am, though. Quite frankly, I’ve lied so much about my age, that when I am asked the question, I literally have to do the math!)
Which brings me to the reason for this column. Today, Jan. 14, I will be attending a special 100th birthday party for a special lady — Gladys Bieser of Mendota. My Aunt Myrna married my Uncle Greg in 1971. As Myrna joined our family, so did her parents, Gladys and Wes Bieser, a farming couple from Mendota. I was just a kid when Greg and Myrna tied the knot; but I was immediately introduced to Gladys and Wes, and they’ve been a part of our extended family ever since.
Let me tell you a little bit about Gladys. Small in stature, there is nothing small about this amazing woman. If I had to give you a few words to describe her, adjectives like strong, spunky and amazing first come to mind. Years ago, I remember watching her, listening to her words and thinking she was one of the hardest working women I had ever seen. She had opinions, and she wasn’t afraid to let you know what she thought. In a place in time when women’s opinions weren’t always welcome, I always admired her insight, her thoughts, her ability to say what was on her mind.
I can remember seeing her dressed for work on the farm or with an apron behind the stove in her kitchen. And then I’d see her dressed for church — I remember one purple dress in particular — and I’d think, “Look how pretty she is.” She wasn’t flashy or bold; she was just perfectly put together. “Pretty” summed it up fairly well.
Speaking of that apron, Gladys was a heck of a cook. She could turn butternut squash into something we dreamed about ... go figure. Pies, potatoes, sweet corn ... it might sound like everyday food, but Gladys had a knack of turning it into something special, something you didn’t forget long after you had left the table.
I guess I could go on and on about Gladys, but today, as I celebrate with her and a myriad of other folks, I’ll have plenty of time to reflect on this lady, who has touched many lives in her 100 years. Much has changed since I first met Gladys more than 40 years ago, but one thing remains constant ... I still respect her today as much as I did back then.
You see, above everything else, Gladys loves life; she loves God; she loves her daughter, her two grandchildren and her two great-grandchildren; and she loves her extended family and friends. At 100 years old, there is still much strength, much spunk that she delivers to those around her. She has grown old gracefully, and clearly she is an inspiration to those around her.
May we all be so fortunate ... Happy Birthday, Gladys.
BCR Editor Terri Simon can be reached at tsimon@bcrnews.com or follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bcrnews.tsimon.
