It is my birthday today.
I could have called this post something akin to “Like a loaded 45” for that is my new age but in truth I am not fond of guns nor the noise they make. Instead, I prefer to think of this lovely quote that my friend David Terry sent me by the author Annie Dillard:
“All my life, I had been a bell, but I never knew this until I was lifted and struck.”
Isn’t that gorgeous? And while I think that we all have the possibility for several periods of chiming throughout our lives, I am feeling mighty positive about this birthday. For several years now, there is the element of “I am still here!” tucked into the celebration but also, if you are a believer in astrology, Susan Miller has predicted that I have one hum-dinger of a year ahead.
Yet I already feel so deeply grateful. I am sitting in a room that is all of my own where I can do just as I please. The windows are open and I can see out over the red-tiled rooftops to the hills beyond. The birds are twittering away, hopping from tree to tree. A cup of Lady Gray tea is steaming on my desk and Remi has taken the dogs out for their morning walk. Later on, we will go to see some art as is my birthday tradition and have lunch out. Tonight will be a quiet dinner like we like. Candles will be lit as they always are and not just to be blown out while making a wish.
Yesterday, at my favorite brocante in Eygalieres, one of the owners told me, “You are entering into a wonderful age. Between 45 to 50, you really have the chance in front of you to work out whatever demons you have left. All you have to do is decide to do it.” It is interesting advice. And I certainly feel very conscious of the sense of opportunity in front of me, beckoning. I will take that extended olive branch, thank you.
So today is my little party. Another day it will be yours. May our best present be to carry a sense of awareness, of not taking that internal bell and its inherent possibility for granted, for if we listen it just might be ringing throughout the year…
Happy Birthday! I think you will love this time of your life. R&G
Happy, happy birthday, dear, sweet Heather. (Now I really wish we had come back to Provence again this August so that I could have given you my wishes for a marvelous year in person!) Welcome to 45 (beat you there by a few months, a-hem). Time flies by, doesn't it? I actually read yesterday a quote from someone who said that getting older is a blessing and a privilege, not a given. Not everyone gets to do it. I thought those were wise words. I'm glad that you are feeling so positive about this birthday and the place you have made for yourself in this world. Here's to a humdinger of a year – the fact that you are starting it in a brand new home is bound to bring some delightful things your way.
I hope that you enjoy your day and your celebration. I will be raising a glass to you! XOXO
Wishing all the best to another Leo! Still reading and can't wait to see the new spot all HeatheRemizied!
Being several (many?) years older than 45, I can honestly say it only gets better! For those of us who really know ourselves, and think about our place in this world, the knowledge is wonderful and only makes life better. Enjoy your birthday, and many, many more!
Happy, Happy Birthday Heather! Bonne Anniversaire! May the advise of that brocante in Éygalières become reality and luck and health and happiness be with you!
And you are – a lion! I should have known it, for my dear brother is a lion too! We celebrate his 50th birthday on friday and his whole family, wife and two children are lions too. ( which makes every family meeting pretty "spectacular" ! (;
I will follow you up in October with the 45 and will also take the advise of the brocante d'Égalières to heart. So lets see what we can do…
Funny, just this morning I watched the photos I had taken from Égalières. Especially from that impressive chain of rocks juste en face de la Domaine de "La Vallongue". I tried to remember if we drank the "Pierres cassées" or the "Garrigues rouge" for I'd love to order a box… ( Have you seen, they provide "Les nuits lyriques" at the Domaine on sunday and monday…)
Enjoy your day and say hi to the birds for I love watching them too!
Happy Birthday Heather. You have already begun your year of "entering a wonderful age" by moving into your new house. Wishing you the Best of what life has to offer. ox, Gina
Merveilleux anniversaire…. Francine
Have I told you, Heather (and I hope that this doesn't post twice…), that Annie lived for a long while down the street from us in this tiny, ultra-literary (it sometimes seems that half the best-selling Southern authors live here) town? Next door to Annie lived (And still lives, as a matter of fact) a very well-known photographer friend of mine. Everyone, of course, deeply admires Annie and her work (which is voluminous), but the fact remains that, as anyone who's actually read her work might just possibly guess, Annie is a Very Intense Person……whether that be in regard to what distresses/gladdens/intrigues/concerns/whatever her. What a surprise.
In any case, I was amused last Spring when, one day, I asked my friend what it was "like" living next door to Annie Dillard. My friend lifted her eyebrows and made a slightly wan smile before saying "Oh, she's just WONderful, of course….but I'll admit there were mornings when I'd start to go out my front door, realize Annie was in her front garden….and I'd think 'Oh, am I UP to this?…..".
I've got to admit that I, myself, have plenty of mornings when all I want to do is get the recylcling down to the road without having to participate in an intense, half-hour, roadside interview with a renowned author/genius/philosopher/poet. Particularly when I've snuck barefoot out of the house in my ratty pajamas, hoping I won't be seen by anyone.
A happy birthday to you….and check your email. I just sent you something that you, Remi, and that "new" plumbing of your should appreciate…..
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
A very Happy Birthday Heather. You plans for today sound like a perfect way to celebrate.
I love that Annie Dillard quote. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you Heather! 🙂