“Now, statistics prove, prove that you've one birthday,” the Mad Hatter said. “Imagine, just one birthday every year. Ah, but there are three hundred and sixty-four unbirthdays! Precisely why we're gathered here to cheer. A very merry unbirthday to you.”
An “Unbirthday,” as the Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland” explains, is a perfect reason to gather together and celebrate one another and the care team from II Sorrento Mobile Home Park (MHP) certainly agrees.
On Sunday, August 12, 2018, friends and family celebrated an “Unbirthday Party” for 17 community members of II Sorrento MHP for reaching the golden age of 90-plus years.
The guests of honor were welcomed by birthday balloons and personalized birthday cakes as they arrived at the clubhouse.
Among the guests of honor was Jean Naylor, 97, who has attended every “Unbirthday” celebration since the very first one in 2011.
Naylor has lived in the II Sorrento MHP for over 10 years and still loves living there. Naylor enjoys attending its events, seeing friends and especially loves her corner home that faces a lake, which makes it perfect for porch-sitting.
Naylor was joined by her son, daughter-in-law and friend of 80 years, Dean Wilson, another “Unbirthday” guest of honor.
Naylor, who has lived in the Moreno Valley and Riverside area since the 1940s, met her friend in high school when they were 17-years-old. 80 years later, the two friends sit side-by-side and celebrate their “Unbirthday.”
Before singing happy birthday and cutting the cake, Helen Davis, care team coordinator, spoke about the reason for the “Unbirthday” celebration, saying it was due to some 90-plus community members outliving their family and friends and the care team wanted to make sure these members were included and surrounded by good company at II Sorrento MHP events.
Davis also noted that “you can’t have a birthday without gifts,” as members of the care team handed out little boxes of sweets to the guests of honor: Audrey Barnes, Ellie Marceron, Anne Neudecker, Lee Rodosovich, Jana Whittenbaugh, Patsy Christensen, Connie Gee, Marge Montoya, O.J. Philpot, Arthur Shelbur, Bonnie Wilson, Mary Folk, Ray Lemoine, Jean Naylor, Luise Pleiss, Flossie Ward and Dean Wilson.
The guests of honor were also read some poems of an old friend, who also used to write for their newsletter, Peggy Bergland.
Bergland’s book entitled “A Century of Memories,” contains some stories and poems about her community at the II Sorrento MHP. Davis read aloud a few poems that were inspired by the people of the community, one of them describing residents who drive too fast in the park entitled, “Do you Have Lead in Your Boots?” The guests of honor and others in attendance smiled and laughed as they connected with Bergland’s poems. Another one describes coffee and donuts Wednesday, which directly named some of her friends at the mobile home park and called for others to join in on the fun and meet everyone.
The “Unbirthday” celebration perfectly concluded with a delightful sing-along as the group joined voices and filled the clubhouse with beautiful harmony when they joyfully sang Frank Sinatra’s “Young at Heart.”