We celebrated my mother’s birthday yesterday (May 15). It was her 96th.

As the card said, “I no can believe you dat old!”

We celebrated with lunch at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Meda and I, my sister, Bonnie Stevens, and my mother, Helen Lind.

She recalled that she probably first visited the academy in about 1928, when she was in high school, not long after it first opened in 1927. Two decades later, she took me to several mother-child art classes at the academy beginning when I was about 4 years old. That was nearly 60 years ago. She still has one of the pieces she made in our first pottery class, but recalls that I mashed all my clay creations up after that first session was over.

It was interesting to feel the flow of history around us as we ate a wonderful lunch at the open air Pavilion Cafe, a great spot if you’ve never tried it.

After lunch, it was back to her house for a birthday cake (actually, a birthday frosted brownie), with a stop at the Assistance League thrift store on the way.

Short video coming later today, I hope.