Topless Topper

I am positive that the thoughts and memories that pop up for me when I see a top hat like the one above, are pretty different from yours. Most of you, if you are older than 50 will think of the old "Topper" TV show that aired many years ago. Or you are picturing a tiny bride & groom on a wedding cake. Not me.

My maiden name was Topper. Not a bad or ugly name, there were no bad rhymes or anything, but in the sixth grade one dorky, skinny guy insisted on calling me "Topless Topper" every time he saw me on the playground! And I definitely matched the description and still do unfortunately. Mother Nature did not heavily endow me at all. I kept waiting to be a late bloomer, but I am pretty sure that we have passed the expiration date at this point in time. Oh well.

But the top hat also brings back good, warm fuzzy memories. My mom hand-made her baby announcements for my little brother's arrival and I still have one. You guessed it, they were black construction paper top hats that opened up to announce the newest Topper. Very cute & original.

Tomorrow I am joining my Mom to have lunch with cousins and aunts from that side of the family that I have not seen or talked with in many years, other than Facebook recently. I am the eldest of five cousins that were born in 1955, we are "The 55'ers" that I told you about a while ago here.

Thanks to Facebook we have all reconnected after more than 20 years apart. We just got busy raising our kids and living our lives and forgot to make the effort to reach out to one another. This last summer as I contemplated turning 55 years old this year and being born in '55, it inspired me to try to connect with my cousins through Facebook and it worked! We have been sharing stories and memories like crazy and it's been great!

But, now comes the LUNCH together and I am nervous and wishing it were over. Sounds awful, I know, but how do you catch up and explain yourself to people that you should have been talking to all along? They all knew me as the oldest but the most fearful and hesitant about everything. They always had to talk me into any new adventure or fun. I was the "sensible one" as my Mom would reassure me.

So we will sit around in a kitchen with our potluck offerings and tell stories and compare photos tomorrow and hopefully I will be the strong, adventurous freedom-loving woman that I am today. I'll let you know.