The celebration took place at a small, but friendly and excellent, French restaurant called Pourquoi Pas which is close to the Berman ancestral home.

Nothing says Happy Birthday like snails, shrimp, and chocolate éclairs.

Ana and Saul Berman. I don't know what I would do without them.

It's always best to take the group pictures before the food arrives...

There are not too many picture of me that I like. My Mother gets all the credit for making this one viewable.

We were by far the largest group in the restaurant. Rather than annoy the other diners, I think they thought we were cute as they wished us well at the end of the evening.

My Grandparents have always represented the best qualities of our family. It is because of their influence that we are so close and supportive.

Freda, Chaim, and the Birthday Girl enjoy a loving moment before dinner.

Hal couldn't resist the opportunity to share in the affection.

For the record, Bella was actually awake for a good portion of the evening.

Sometimes Birthdays allow you to reflect on the passage of time. As we celebrated my Mother's sixty-first birthday, I was reminded of a day, some twenty-seven years ago, when we celebrated the sixtieth birthday of my Grandfather Chaim.

Aside from my shock at the realisation that I can actually remember events that transpired nearly three decades ago, I was struck by the disconcerting thought that my Grandfather, whom I have always seen as the elder statesman of our family, was actually a year younger on that day than my mother is today.

Happy Birthday Mams...I hope we can all do it again on your seventieth!