Peggy’s birthday is in the summer, and the women in our neighborhood have made it a tradition to bring a luncheon party to her house. It’s fun for Peggy, who’s widowed and doesn’t drive, and it’s fun for the rest of us because we’re a happy group of people. This year, we couldn’t walk across the street or next door. We had to drive about 15 minutes to Peggy’s new home. She sold her house last spring and is now living with her daughter.

I visited her at her new location in late spring, and she gave me a tour of her daughter’s house. Peggy has the entire finished walk-out basement to herself, including the patio. Of course, she wouldn’t move without bringing some of her John Wayne collection with her. John Wayne is her favorite movie star, and she loves watching old westerns on TV–especially those starring John Wayne.

Before I visited Peggy in person, I asked her what she misses. Her answer: hot fudge sundaes. On the way to her daughter’s house, I picked up a hot fudge sundae for her and put it into an ice chest to keep it cold for the last few minutes of the drive. She was thrilled!

For Peggy’s 94th birthday this year, the neighborhood group decided to surprise her with an afternoon visit. We all contributed something, and brought paper plates, cups, etc., beverages, chocolate macaroons, a fruit salad with coconut in it (coconut and chocolate are favorites of Peggy’s), and a dessert. The dessert was my contribution. You can see a piece of it on the plate in the lower left corner of the photo below. Peggy’s daughter and son-in-law were out of town, but her granddaughter was staying with her in their absence, and she joined our party. She took this picture of us.

Peggy was totally surprised when we showed up. If you’re wondering how we knew she didn’t fake it, look closely at her in the photo. When she knows people are coming, she puts in her front tooth, but it’s missing. She jokes about the tooth and will say things like “I knew you were coming, so I put in my tooth!” Yes, we’re a fun group!