Celebrating a centenarian life: Grace, Elegance, Love, and Faith.

Imagine living up to 100 years old. Imagine how family, neighbors/friends, and caregivers fuss about you to make it a special day.

Imagine Joe ordering a special birthday card from England on January 15 and, to be told it won’t arrive until Feb. 15, buys another card from Walgreens only to receive it yesterday.

Imagine a busy Grandma who attends to her grandchild #princess2015la and attends to her workers finishing a house project and still makes time to bake with the help of Maura Brito tres platanos and tres chocolate cake.

Imagine a very busy florist Ed Rame who created a special event called Alice in Wonderland with Elaine Quadra yesterday and then makes time at 8 am to deliver a spectacular arrangement of 100 roses which everyone wanted to take photos of as if the arrangement was a celebrity?

But May is a celebrity in her own right – a person who ages in place, with grace and elegance. She taught me about mensch, about her Jewish faith to do good to others, of her struggles to get into the US from New York, who married for love and moved to California, surviving four wars.

Most of the invited neighbors showed up: Karen, Tom, their daughter; Larry and Bonnie; myself and my husband; and May’s lovely daughters Esther and Nadine and her loving and caring caregivers, Michelle, Loida, and later tonight, Nora.

I was very touched by Nadine’s comments about how I made it so special with love, thoughtfulness, and meaning. How can I not? Can you contain 100 years of life, love, and faith? You cannot! You can only show the outburst of blue, white, and gold balloons made by Loida and her son and daughter for 5 hours!

Then, to chance upon Pope Francis celebrating mass in South Sudan, celebrating this country’s 100 years of faith this morning. Pope Francis invited spiritual leaders from Scotland, England, and Sudan to come together in prayers and amongst their faith differences of Anglican, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic, to find common ground to believe that we are all beloved children of God, conceived and thought of by God.

I was in tears as I offered mass intention for an elegant and graceful May!

Here we are today, surrounding her: neighbors from diverse backgrounds of various ethnicities, celebrating May. Our cards and gifts came from Mexico, Italy, England, Germany, and the USA. It was as if the Holy Spirit orchestrated synchronicity, #graceupongrace, and multicultural unity.