By Sue Seibert | sueseibert@att.net

I hate to be sick on my birthday, but I have been more times than I care to count. You see, my birthday is a week to the day before Christmas, and since my mother was absolutely afraid of my having surgery, my tonsils are still there – unless they have dried up with age.

At any rate, I have been sick with tonsillitis many times in the last 69 years. But one time, it wasn’t the fault of the tonsils – at least my daddy didn’t think so.

After Mother stopped teaching when I was born, Daddy ran for the school board and won. The year I was in third grade, he was on the board and that year I had Mrs. Mueller for my third grade teacher. Now, I was a very slow reader, and by third grade, the third week of December, I finally read my first book. I was so proud that I turned to a classmate who had been reading for years and said, “Edward Earl, I read a book.”

Edward Earl did the thing he did best, he raised his hand, was called upon, and said, “Mrs. Mueller, Sue talked.”

Mrs. Mueller, who never wanted to bend over backward for the sake of a school board member’s daughter (and, I must say, she was right in that) sat me out on the ledge at Central Ward Elementary in Stephenville all during recess...facing the north wind.

It was a cold, wet, cloudy day, and wonder of wonders, I got sick. The doctor had to be called, and I was home from school and all through my birthday with tonsillitis and fever.

Of course, being an honest child, I told my parents exactly what had happened. It was the truth, after all, but Daddy got so mad he mumbled all through my birthday, and on into the new year, that he was going to fire Mrs. Mueller.

My mother finally calmed him down, and, so far as I know, Mrs. Mueller lived out her days teaching third grade at Central Ward. She certainly never was my favorite teacher, she wouldn’t even let me change the goldfish’s water because she might play favorites, but she was a single parent. I believe her husband had died in World War II, and that might have made her just a little bitter.

Birthdays now are much more fun. Our oldest grandson has a birthday just the day before me, and several of our friends have birthdays between the 16th and the 19th of December, so now we celebrate with a festive meal at a nice restaurant. Some of our family come with some of the friends, and we have a great time, with wonderful food and drink. That is one of our many December traditions.

This year, as last, we will be eating at the Fire Oak Grill in Weatherford. For years we ate at Aventino’s in Fort Worth, but, sadly, they closed, and, happily, Fire Oak opened.

Last year Raf’s best friend, Bob, and his wife, Gunni, joined us from Brownsville, but this year they have a company party in New Orleans. And, sadly, my cousin Ron will not be here as his foster daughter is being married in Las Vegas. I will miss him, as he is the only one who remembers all my life, and he has been here for my birthday for years. We are both only children.

However, with family and friends around that whole weekend, and Raf’s sister coming in from Ohio, we will have a very warm and loving birthday weekend!

Sue Seibert is an author, columnist, genealogist and frequent contributor to the Mineral Wells Index and its publications.