“The seventieth birthday! It is the time of life when you arrive at a new and awful dignity; when you throw aside the decent reserves which have oppressed you for a generation and have stand unafraid and unabashed upon your seven-terraced summit and look down and teach-unrebuked. You can tell the world how you got there.” Mark Twain Good afternoon family and friends, I am privileged to be here today to celebrate with you my seventieth birthday. Today is a day I will remember fondly if health allows me to, for seventy is a good long time to live- I should know! In addition, it is truly something to celebrate. In the presence of everyone, my husband Alexander, my sons Alexandre and Vito, my daughters Thea-Simone and Mikaela, my 13 grandchildren and my three great grandchildren. I can proudly say, you are the reason I live today. Who I am today is a product of my earlier socialization, my experiences and my ambitions. I may be described as an introvert, as you all know; I am quiet by temperament and flourishes in my own company and space, until I met my husband. Alexander and I met when we were in high school, we were friends first, however; a few years later the friendship has grown into something more. We both got accepted into a four year college where my major was psychology and his was biology. I graduated with our bachelor’s degree and then moved on to graduate school at Harvard University to further advance my studies to doctorate’s degree. In the latter part of graduate school I found out that, we were going to have a baby. Above all things I worried about being a good mother to our baby. I looked forward to its birth amidst the support of friends and family. Understandably, I became alarmed when my doctor spoke about his concern about the hike in my blood pressure. He cautioned me about the dangers of high blood pressure levels especially during pregnancy. I immediately changed my diet as per recommendation and did
“The seventieth birthday! It is the time of life when you arrive at a new and awful dignity; when you throw aside the decent reserves which have oppressed you for a generation and have stand unafraid and unabashed upon your seven-terraced summit and look down and teach-unrebuked. You can tell the world how you got there.” Mark Twain Good afternoon family and friends, I am privileged to be here today to celebrate with you my seventieth birthday. Today is a day I will remember fondly if health allows me to, for seventy is a good long time to live- I should know! In addition, it is truly something to celebrate. In the presence of everyone, my husband Alexander, my sons Alexandre and Vito, my daughters Thea-Simone and Mikaela, my 13 grandchildren and my three great grandchildren. I can proudly say, you are the reason I live today. Who I am today is a product of my earlier socialization, my experiences and my ambitions. I may be described as an introvert, as you all know; I am quiet by temperament and flourishes in my own company and space, until I met my husband. Alexander and I met when we were in high school, we were friends first, however; a few years later the friendship has grown into something more. We both got accepted into a four year college where my major was psychology and his was biology. I graduated with our bachelor’s degree and then moved on to graduate school at Harvard University to further advance my studies to doctorate’s degree. In the latter part of graduate school I found out that, we were going to have a baby. Above all things I worried about being a good mother to our baby. I looked forward to its birth amidst the support of friends and family. Understandably, I became alarmed when my doctor spoke about his concern about the hike in my blood pressure. He cautioned me about the dangers of high blood pressure levels especially during pregnancy. I immediately changed my diet as per recommendation and did