Birthday Gratitude

Today is my birthday.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my parents who launched me into life (and refrained from - as Bill Cosby said - "taking me out of it" at my worst moments), my fabulous birthday-conscious siblings, my truly amazing husband and children, and for my brilliant, loving and loyal friends.

I'm also deeply and surprisingly grateful for that Facebook feature that lets everyone see that it's your birthday. Thanks to folks from nearly every decade of my life for weighing in with good wishes.

Getting older is not for sissies, the old adage goes, and certainly health challenges are on the increase. From the high vantage point of a beautiful 75-degree day in Colorado, it appears to me that longevity's payoff in loving relationships more than balances out the impairments of aging. Note: I really wanted to write "loving relationships and WISDOM" in the previous sentence, but I just cannot use the word wisdom in reference to myself. Maybe by the next birthday . . . or in twenty years.

Amazing Place

Just a quick note to preface the skiing glamour shots . . . we had a brilliant two days on the very warm slopes with John, Carol, Julia, Sean and Audrey. In two - plus years of skiing Winter Park I had never been to the top of Panoramic before and on Friday we made it up there with Rob, Aden, William and John, not once but four times! Utterly fabulous... even at the top we had our jackets unbuttoned and were nearly blinded by the radiant sun. So thankful to J, C and company for making the trip out here and spending precious time with us in the great Colorado outdoors. The kids skied great and were terrific sports about the change of locations and altitude. Hope it's the first of many times together . . .

Julia, Sean and Audrey Ready to Go!

 

On the LIft with Aden

 

Cousins Skiing!!

 

Uncle John with Laura and the kids at the top of Panoramic

 

Still Trying . . .

Still trying to give up anxiety. Unfortunately, I only remember to give it up after it reaches a fever pitch, as it did this morning when I paused between organizing a fifth grade flash mob and planning 6-year-old soccer practice to buy diet pepsi for Carol (which I had forgotten in my 8 previous trips to the grocery store this week). I decided that blogging was an acceptable way to alleviate my anxiety and put off cleaning the bathrooms and floors before John and Carol and their children arrive tonight. We are going to have a blast when they're here but the pre-visit cleaning is not my forte!

Between teaching science, sitting through class on the nature of Evil and Sin, Pain and Suffering, flash-mobbing and soccer coaching, I have witnessed a few miracles. These include:

- the smell of a daffodil
- love, freely given and totally undeserved
- a surprise early birthday present
- forgiveness of a child

I am grateful for miracles and all of the people in my life who provide them. I am also grateful for family and the effort they make to spend time with us. Some family members wanted to come but were prevented by health issues; we want to send special loving and healing thoughts to my father-in-law, who is prepping for hip surgery, and my father, who is recovering from cataract surgery. And our thoughts are with my nephew on his second birthday this Saturday, and his parents who are prepping for the birth of their second child. Lots and lots of love, guys!

Firefly

My intro version
plays hide and seek,
burrows under shrubbery,
peers around
chimney bricks
reluctantly releasing heat
of midday sol-itude,
their radiance dissipating into
vaporous twilight, swirling
shouts of chattery laughter.

Intro masquerades as an extra,
the last player in the game,
sequestered until compañeros start
to drift away, their irritation
scratching the early evening air,
too impatient to wait for me
to re-light the spark,
gleam like a firefly
for treasured moments,
broken by darkness.

Corazón

ίQue signifícan ellos,
los latidos de mi corazón?
Sus ritmos, sus alitbajos
Hablan de amor y dolor.
Mi corazón, con su válvula
Agujereada,
Que crece en realidad,
ίCrece igualmente en su capacidad de amar?

Like a door ajar, permitting stealthy entrance
Of unwanted visitors.
Hospitably offering respite, una Zona Rosa for guests
Of which the host remains unaware.
The expanding hostel pointing left but growing right.
A tipping point approaches,
How long can we stay in balance?
Only in this moment.

The doctor will penetrate with fleam, with vision
Of repair and wholeness.
Yet a heart once broken will remain so,
The Atman dwelling within.
Brahma’s twin shines through unstitched seams,
Expands to fill wounds deep and wide.
The question: build hard to pulsing crescendo,
Or patiently abide with steady pulse?

Random

I am perched on my chair
As my derriere is rare;
Too many situps on the floor
Made my rear end red and sore.

Not prizeworthy poetry, but unfortunately true. So as I perch, I wanted to record a few random thoughts. First, I need to defend several of my Words with Friends word choices that have been strongly debated. To my worthy WWF opponents (you know who you are), these ARE words and here I shall prove it:

- Fleam: a handheld venepuncture device (good luck with venepuncture)
- Sherd: a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, often spelled 'shard'
- Wode: a wood

And here are some words submitted by aforementioned opponents that I debated:
- Pelves: alternate spelling for pelvis (now that's annoying!)
- Charro: a traditional horseman from Mexico
- Gimel: the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet

So hopefully we are all on the same page / kindle viewing screen.

I also wanted to start keeping track of little miracles - kind of an alternate Lenten activity since I am not doing super well with giving up anxiety. I have not given up giving it up, but thought maybe the new process would support the first.

So, miracle for today: second day of sixty-plus degree weather, and the hyacinths and daffodils are poking their heads above ground. I bet the wode will soon be full of them!