Dorothy's 97th birthday

Recently, we had a birthday party for my amazing mother, which also served as an informal Ing family reunion. (We used to hold these every year at Breton, but the health of the older generation no longer permits this. Three of the six children are still living, and all are in their 90s.)

Here is a photo I took on this occasion. They are left to right, by age: Myrtle 92, Violet 95, Dorothy 97 (ages as of the end of this month).

Mom (Dorothy) was able to have good conversations with various members of the family, but by the time this photo was taken, she was noticeably tired. 

The weather was in the low 20s C and there were no bugs yet, so the dining patio was ideal for a large group. I didn’t take a count at the time, but I remember the following people being there:

Mom, Vi and Myrtle

Of Marion’s family: Ernie, Donna; Ted; Sherry

Of Mom’s family: Me and Judy, Laurel and Cadence, Evelyn and 2 children, Andrew and Nicole and 5 children; Lloyd; Justin, Kim and 4 children (arrived late, because of another commitment); Ed;
Judy and Bernie; Jason; Brandon, Tiffany, and William; Nikki, Taryn and her friend John

Of Vi’s family: Gary; Stan and Brenda; Diane

Of Myrtle’s family: Shirley

So I count over 40 people. James and Karin’s family would have come if her brother's wedding had been on a different day.

It was a beautiful time, full of expressions of love and gratitude.

Happy birthday Dorothy, Vi and Myrtle! All three have birthdays in May.