It's an Interesting Life

Never boring.

I was out with a few friends this evening to celebrate my birthday. It's pretty cool that among my friends, I count my sister, my husband and my nephew. I do love my family. Matthew wiped me out. He gave me flowers. I cried. I'm not sure why. It kind of startled him, too. But, I cried. He gave me a fuzzy purple pillow. Awesome.

My memory serves me well in many areas, but as for celebrating holidays ... well, I stink. I don't remember specifics about holidays (including birthdays), but I remember conversations and snippets of events. I looked through my jewelry box this weekend - something I haven't done in quite some time. It made me emotional. I found treasures from my past, but I can't remember why they were treasures. I just remember that I loved those pieces. There are a couple that I have anchored in my mind, but others ... well, not so much.

When we cleaned out my grandmother's apartment, we found that she had put little labels on the bottom of her precious pieces or stock little notes in vases, etc. All of those things told us exactly what the piece was and where and when it had come from. It helped us to anchor her memories.

I have many calendars that I have filled out over the years. I generally get started well, but then lose track of what I'm doing. But, those little snippets of my memory are wonderful. I just found journal entries (in a steno pad) from late 1995/early 1996. Max and I were traveling around Iowa a lot as he photographed the landscapes. I was reminded of the dates and times of things that we did and places we saw. I'll be honest with you. If I hadn't read my own handwriting, I would never have believed that we went to some of the places I say that we went. Terrible, terrible memory.

Tonight, though as I think back on mmy life, I can't believe how fortunate I have been. I see God's grace moving through my life. Occurrences that had the power to destroy me have become nothing more than a bit of a memory.

The gifts that I have received, though are greater than any difficult times in my life. My family, incredible friends, experiences, everything ... my life has been a gift. I know this and I am thankful for the opportunity to live my life in response to that gift.

So, in a rather uneventful day that celebrates my entrance into time and space, I reflect and then, I look forward. I always look forward with wonder to what tomorrow will bring.