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Gifted



I received lots of attention and warmth on my Birthday. I love when my house is filled with flowers and friends. A couple of lovely traditions continued this year. First, I celebrated the night before my birthday with girlfriends. Angie, Heather and Marianne joined me for wine and cheese which culminated in obnoxious and profane activities on the front porch,wrapped in blankets until wee hours.

The next morning, I talked to Mabel for at least an hour. We talked of life, love, emotional wisdom and growth. Her patience and grace have blown me over all of my life. I feel lucky when I realize that my parents are my heroes. I am not even embarrassed by the sentimentality of it, because it is so raw and plainly true.

Then, Stephanie and Dyna lavished me with a picnic lunch at my house. This year was chilly, so we kept the picnic indoors, but enjoyed it all the same with laugh-till-you-cry stories and good food (cupcake desserts made a highlight). Angie, Kay and Bruce made surprise appearances and the afternoon filled even more. Bruce continued his "Happy Birthday, Toni" flip book series and outdid himself again.

Then last night, we joined Pat and Jeff for dinner, then a 'concert in the rubble.' Tickets for Swell Season had sold out, so we set up lawn chairs and lanterns in Pat and Jeff's condominium that is the floor above the theater. We eavesdropped the performance and imagined the creative possibilities for their pending renovation. (Decadent mini chocolate cakes topped with truffles highlighted the ambient concert.)  Before going to sleep, I listened to a voicemail message of my parents singing Happy Birthday to me, taking turns, sharing verses and giggling.

I am thankful for all of my presents, temporal and divine. I'm grateful to be surrounded with creativity.I'm sharing with you Kay's first video and birthday gift to me. It is about feeding the ferul rabbit that was born and has survived in my yard for three years. His name is Slurpy. Slurpy Alberto.

Click the "Silly Rabbit" link under Reference sites to see it.




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