Happy Birthday, Dolo

Today my grandma turned 80 years old. A few weeks ago I called to check in with her and she was telling me that once she hit the big eight-oh she was finally going to retire. This woman is the Brett Favre of the Houston Community College counseling system. She was like, "You know, I work really hard, but now that I'm going to be 80, maybe I should just have as much time as I want to myself."

She was feeling pretty smug about her work ethic in her golden years. Then I was like "Well Betty White is 88 and just started a new TV series." Don't want Dolo getting too cocky!

Anyway, I called her today to wish her happy birthday. She had just left a fun beach trip with my mom and aunts where she received her surprise birthday memory book.

Do not ever underestimate the inherent sneaky capacity of the women in my family. They devised a plan to break into my grandma's condo, steal a copy of her address book, and mail people directions on how to write a letter to be included in the book.

My letter went a little something like this:

"Dolo, your vanity license plates sum up a lot about you. First, the key word is vanity -  the reason why you look so good for your age. The other day I showed someone your picture and he couldn't believe you were 80. Nice work.

The second reason your license plates are important is that you could get by with just one name, sort of like Cher or Madonna. Speaking of Madonna, for your birthday, I got you a new Latin boy toy just like she has. I found him on the internet and he should arrive in 6 to 8 weeks. I can't wait to meet my new abuelo."

Sentimentality is obviously my strong suit. Love you, Dolo!