I got three sweet and beautiful birthday presents first thing this morning. The Raven Pillow was resting on the bed when I woke up.

Maria and I are blogging this morning; she’s taking me out to lunch. I’m planning a quiet afternoon of some meditation, some reading, some picture taking, and some just doing nothing. Now that I’m 76, I think I deserve a tranquil afternoon once in a while. They are my salvation.

Maria takes birthdays more seriously than I do; she gave some excellent thought to making me a Raven Pillow, something I will cherish and rest my head on. No one else in the world would have thought to do that for me. Sometimes I wonder how someone like Maria could love me, but she always shows me how much she loves me.

That means a lot to me.

She also went to the far pasture this morning and picked these beautiful wildflowers. (She was also excited to show me a video she took of a butterfly eating a leaf.)

 

The pillow is soft and beautiful; how nice to be married to an artist who can convert art and creativity into love. The Raven pillow is so much more personal a gift than socks and handkerchiefs.

The beautiful people in Memory Care at the Mansion sent me a “Happy Birthday Video,” which was incredibly sweet. I love them all. I try to show up for them. They always show up for me.

Maria also read me some poems devoted to flowers from Mary Oliver’s book (it arrived yesterday). That will be part of my afternoon reading. She picked this wildflower bouquet this morning. I bought the Mary Oliver book for myself.

What a sweet birthday morning.

This video came from the Mansion’s Memory Care Unit. I’ve moved my meditation class to Friday; they were thinking of me today.

Three lovely presents to set the tone for a beautiful birthday.