The Tenth of December ~ Acting My Age

     Today is my birthday  ~ and despite the piling of years, (and the need to enlarge the font on my phone), December 10th continues to hold a certain curative magic. The nature of birthday magic may have evolved through the years - packages and parties may have become far less important than simply spending time with my family and friends - but I do admit that I still enjoy brightly wrapped presents (and birthday cake). Thankfully, the years have matured me enough to realize that the real birthday gift,  the real birthday sweetness is the reminder that in this crowded, turbulent world, I have scratched out my own small space. I love and am loved. I've been touched by countless lives, and each one of those lives matter to me.

     Lots of people bemoan the trappings of our digital world ~ the lack of real communication, the seeming farce of friendships which in another era would have been lost to time or distance. But when I woke to phone calls from relatives and friends, when I read the fb messages from former classmates and former students, from co-workers and friends I haven't seen for years, from writers and illustrators whom I've met only briefly but who have enriched my life with their tender words and visions, I am awestruck. When family members come laden with exquisite gifts and treat me to lunch at my favorite restaurant, I am humbled. Each visit, each phone call and fb message is like a birthday balloon spreading untethered joy. 

     One of these birthdays, I may begin to act my age...but certainly not yet...not this birthday ~ I'm still too dazzled by cake and birthday balloons ~ real and virtual!