Today Is My Birthday!

Today is my 43rd birthday, and it's also the day that my little brother turns 40. I had to send him a horribly mean card -- a family tradition -- and I found a stunner. On the outside it has an adorable little cartoon bird, and across the front of the colorful, cheerful card is written "A little birdie told me it is your 40th birthday!" On the inside, it says something to the effect of: "Or it may have been the angel of death. It was fluttering around, whatever it was." Perfect!

This morning my family gave me a lovely gift: two hours ALONE in our house. Keith took all four of the kids to his office for homeschooling rather than the older two who accompany him every Monday in order to meet with Johanna, my dear college friend who tutors them in algebra, which is so NOT my thing. So I have two hours of complete and utter and beautiful SILENCE this morning while I catch up on e-mail and Facebook after being offline yesterday, the first Sunday in Lent. Taking Sundays as a non-computer day may end up becoming a habit long after Lent is over. I liked the peacefulness of my day. The only thing I did all day was to type up and print the kids' new memory verses for this week's school.

After I finish writing this post, I will spend an hour in silence, actually having a QUIET "quiet time" with the Lord. Miracles can happen, you know. At 11:40, Judith will pick me up and we'll meet Kitty at an Italian restaurant in downtown La Mesa for a birthday lunch with my two favorite poets. I am SO looking forward to this wonderful lunch and spending time absorbing their poetic and godly spirits as we discuss almost everything under the sun. It will be lovely! I hope to have another couple of quiet hours after Judith takes me home, or I may ask her to drop me off at a Starbucks where Keith can pick me up on his way home. I love sitting in a Starbucks, sipping tea and either reading or writing. One of my favorite birthdays was a few years ago when I drove myself to Julian and parked myself and my laptop in the Julian Coffee House all day and wrote up my retreat talk. Just me, my laptop, and many cups of tea (and trips to the ladies' room). Aaaaah, bliss! ( - the tea and writing, not the ladies' room!)

Keith will be making my favorite dinner tonight: spinach-stuffed chicken with white wine sauce. It's a ton of work, pounding and rolling out the chicken and stuffing it with spinach, ricotta, and mushrooms, then making a delightfully light sauce that is spooned over the sliced rolled chicken. It's a beautiful dish and so wonderfully delicious that I can't help groaning in pleasure with every mouthful. Okay, out loud just for the first bite, then inwardly for the rest -- I don't want to annoy the whole family. I will enjoy a glass of pinot grigio with the meal, and I'm not sure what Keith is planning for dessert -- my favorite is Boston Cream Pie, but that's such a lot of work. He has made it for me in the past, so who knows?

Yesterday my Logos friends feted me with a lovely lemon cake after our discussion of Uncle Tom's Cabin (which I am still reading -- about 60 pages left!). They all sang to me, and we had a lovely little celebration with E (who attended in lieu of taking an essay exam on the book which I assigned her for American Lit), Linda, Lalita, Diana, Kitty, Judy, Lisa, and Nancy. Thank you, ladies, for the wonderful surprise, and thanks especially to Linda for bringing the cake! Lemon is one of my favorites.

I'm quite used to sharing my birthday. After all, my younger brother was born on my third birthday. My online friend Colleen was born on this day, the same year as my brother. And Denise, our former arts council director, also shares my birthday. But there is one very famous person (besides writer Tom Wolfe) whose birthday is also this day, and I noticed that Google is featuring his artwork today:

So Happy Birthday to the late Dr. Seuss, who spent his later years living in the San Diego area (La Jolla, to be exact). And thanks to all my friends who have wished me Happy Birthday via e-mail and Facebook! You all are the best! And Happy Birthday to Tom, Colleen, Denise, and Dr. Seuss as well!