I spent my 20th birthday in Spain and Morocco, and I have to say that was an unforgettable day, the sights, smells, and sounds of the casbah, seeing a slaughtered camel in a cart after sitting atop a live one earlier that day, the children asking for money in Spanish and me telling them they're cute, the mint tea and child performing in the restaurant we ate in.
My 28th birthday was spent in Belgium. I was with Kelly, one of the best friends of my 20's, and her new husband Christophe, and his wonderful mom went all out and made a meal to celebrate my birthday with so many French desserts and tortes. Their big dog was really in need of fixing, and Christophe's mom gave me lots of gifts I didn't need but appreciated so much.
Spent in Nebraska, my 30th, though, was unbelievably good. I was calmer this birthday, and I tried not to have expectations while also trying to set up a good day for myself. The Thursday and Friday before my birthday, I had great sub jobs for a wonderful French teacher who knows how to make learning fun for her students and creates an environment where the students are a community first, and she enters their community with generosity, fun, and freedom. It was great getting to know those students without any of my own curriculum or expectations to put on them...
And back to my birthday... I spent late Friday evening with Zulaika drinking wine and talking and doing stretches and laughing about our lives and our friendship on her futon. I entered the 30's with her, and she's 31, and now we're in the same decade! I went home at 2:30am and had no problem motivating myself for 8:30am yoga. After hot yoga and then some Kundalini at 10, I stayed after with my poet friend Marge Saiser, and she told me about wonderful poetry retreats she goes to and her life as a full-time poet with daily writing lunches and writing groups, and I looked forward to walking more of that path... Then Liz asked me if I wanted to talk to her, and of course I always want to talk to my beloved yoga teacher, but I've often been a bit afraid, but I was 30 and I had the courage and talked to her on the floor in the hallway for hours! Then she asked if I wanted a bite to eat, and I thought I might fly out of my skin and said yes. I told her it was my 30th birthday, and she decided to make it her treat, and we went to Cafe Italia and talked about our lives and yoga and spiritual journeys and how I might use the spirit of yoga to deal with challenges in the classroom like students saying f-you, etc., and it was just so great to have Liz's full attention and to give her mine! It was a great gift from the universe. I have wished for that, and there it was.
Then I got home worried that I'd missed Alyssa's arrival, and I called her, and she was running hours late, which worked out perfectly. When I turned around after hanging up with Alyssa, Clint was coming in the door with a flowering plant for me and a perfect card, and he was so sweet! Then I played around doing something for awhile, and Alyssa came, we went out for sushi, and we were waited on by a middle student I've taught whose dad owns the sushi place. It was so great calling Catherine by name and knowing her and her sister who I also taught, and the main waitress was also wonderful, and we had the best tempura cheesecake! Then we went to a magic show where there were a couple of okay comedians headlining and then a great guy doing magic, and I realized that it's all about exploring the boundaries of human expectation, which was very cool. He swallowed fire, put pins in one eye and out the other and did so many unexpected things... Alyssa went up on stage, and we were so thrilled to see her courage, and Alyssa knew our waitress, and I saw Cierra, who was my hairdresser for my wedding. It was great to be out with Clint and his sister and now my sister Alyssa, and I told them I loved them and was so glad to be with them.
Then today Alyssa and I went to yoga, and Roxana made me feel really good by saying I was doing the poses well a couple of times (showing my athletic sis-in-law that I'm good at something!) :) Then Alyssa and I went to Grateful Bread and got soup and scones and a brownie, shared with Clint and went shopping. Alyssa is the best shopping partner ever. We went to Steve and Barry's, where everything was undern $9, and I got awesome purple cords and a few other things totally $36. Then Alyssa told me she'd bought a dress and leggings from Express, and I asked her to show me, and I found some to try on and spent a long time in the dressing room and was so happy to get some great things to wear in Chicago. I got awesome capri leggings and a cool, short dress, which was an outfit I would never have imagined I could sport a year ago... It was a great feeling, and the girl helping us, Maggie, and Alyssa were very encouraging when I told them I was just surprised because I'd just lost weight and didn't expect to feel so good in these clothes.
Then I went out to dinner with my family, and it was so great to see everyone. My sister Ann was inspired by me to maybe try out yoga, and I so loved talking to my wonderful sister-in-law Tammy. She is such a bright spirit. And Sue brought me balloons. Dorie brought me a cake. Everyone came but my dad, who hurt his foot, and even though there was so much to take in with 20 people, it was really wonderful to be in the same space with everyone.
I had awesome energy when I came home and went to Zulaika's to share some with her, but she had a headache, so I told her about the deals at Steve and Barry's and went my way. I called Alyssa, who asked if I'd been back the State Theatre yet to see about my lost ATM card, which I'd totally forgotten about it, and I drove there, and they had it safe and sound!
This is a basic account of my birthday. There was so much wonderfulness and abundance, it's hard to capture it, but I wanted to have a wonderful 30th birthday, and as much as I was able to be awake to all of the good around me, I could see a lot. There are cards all over my house, and it's not just about being loved but also about being happy to be moving forward in my journey and being comfortable in a new decade and not feeling staid at all but growing and full.
I wrote a card to Zulaika tonight and want to pass on some of what I said to a bigger audience:
"I wish you cup after cup after cup of tea... I wish you all the love of the universe...Yesterday when I was lunching with Liz, I was thinking how much your spirits would illuminate each others'. It's amazing to me how much life is the illumintation of those spirits who choose to share space at a given time, whether through memory, music, literature, yoga, conversation, or walking down the same street... I treasure your spirit. You are a source of great abundance. From my solar plexus to yours. Namaste."
1 comment:
Nice picture :)
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