Back on January 22, my family helped me celebrate a birthday quite unlike any other. A few weeks before my birthday, I received 50 Band-aids. Junior band-aids the box said. With pictures of lions & monkeys on the box and on the band-aids themselves. Interesting, I thought. Never gotten anything like that before. And yes, I've only had one band-aid worthy injury since then but I did wear one of the jr. lion & tiger band-aids!

Later the same day, a voucher for a 50 minute foot rub! Ah, things are looking up! In a big way. It's hard to top a foot rub - and 50 minutes worth? Awesome! The voucher even had a punch list so that the 50 minutes was broken down into 5 minute segments, so I could divide it up and use it a bit at a time! How handy and thoughtful.

The next day brought 50 Q-Tips! I would never have guessed that one had I been asked what was in the package. I don't use them. Never have! Perhaps I will now. One of my children gave it to me. Of course I'll use them. Or share them with Brenda if she needs some extra!

I go to work! 50 proverbs! Typed. In 50 different fonts. On 50 separate hand cut sheets of paper. Taped to a wall in my office. Some good ones too! Like this one... " In every woman there is a queen. Speak to the queen and the queen will answer." I think I get it - now if I can just remember it - and use it!

Pretty quickly I was able to figure out that there was significance to the quantity of each item that was gifted, but it took awhile to figure out there might be 50 sets of 50 things coming! I just couldn't imagine that anyone could come up with, much less take the trouble to, continue this process.

Well someone(s) could and did.

I'll not tell you how old I am. I'll leave it for you to figure that one out!

Here is what I received ( along with a few comments & photos)

50 Band-aids

Coupon - 50 minute foot rub

50 Q-tips

50 proverbs

Coupon - 50 friendly funches (You may never have heard of these - ask Karmen)

50 Songs on CD (recorded by friends & family)

50 Writing utensils

50 Mark Twain quotes (If you haven't read much Mark Twain, you should!)

50 Pieces of paper ( writing paper; maybe you'll hear from me soon)

50 Reeses Peanut butter cups (The only candy that really matters)

50 states matching game

50 Aging brochures

Coupon - 50 minute back rub (AHHHHH)

50 Black jelly beans

50 tbsp metamucil (Orange flavored - not too bad)

50 Rolls of Toilet Paper ( Practical, this family of mine, eh?)

50 recipes

50 Paper clips

50 Stamps

50 Envelopes

50 Nuts ( Yes, someone counted out the precise amount)

50 Rubber bands

50 Matches

Coupon - 50 minutes free labor

50 Index cards

50 Toothpicks

50 Mini cookies ( And I got to eat them all - lasted longer than you might think!)

50 Staples (Yep, they counted them too)

50 Happenings in 1959

50 "Reasons you're the greatest" (Generous family I've got, wouldn't you say?)

Coupon - 50 hugs (Nice!)

50 Black napkins

50 "You know you're aging when…" sayings

50 Interesting facts

50 Twist ties (I think they were running out of ideas)

50 Tissues (Used them all on the way back from Oklahoma)

50 Thank you notes

50 Pieces of advice

50 Pennies

50 Pieces of poetry

50 Black balloons

50 Puzzles (2- 25 piece puzzles actually. I worked them all by myself!)

50 Lessons learned from Eldon (You probably don't want to know some of these!)

50 Stickers

50 Pieces of art (All originals)

50 - word word search

50 Neckties (These you have to see!!!)

50 E-cards

$50 gift certificate (Ordered some really good books from Amazon on African hunting adventures)

&

50 screwdrivers! (There is a story here)

When Elliott & I were still at home, we often were enlisted to assist Dad with his varied, numerous and creative, ongoing projects. Due to the scattered locations we might be performing these tasks (in the shop, the barn, the back 40, basement, garage) and a somewhat lackadaisical effort to put all our tools back where they belonged, we sometimes had difficulty finding a screwdriver. So after an effort to locate one, we would make our way back to Dad and tell him we were not able to find any. To which he invariably replied with a mixture of consternation and bewilderment, "We've got piles of them around here"!

We never did find those piles! However, after Elliott & I were gone from home, I believe Dad did some cleaning & organizing and guess what... he did have at least one good pile of screwdrivers.
And I got a pretty good pile myself now. 50 more than I had last year!