Lovely Day

It's my birthday today. No, you can't ask how old I am. It's a girl thing. I didn't intend to mention it on the blog, but so far it's been all good. Here's my birthmorning so far:

6.20 - I'm lying in bed, waiting for my mother to leave to take my brother's children, who are with us for the week, to school. The Chicken, my 13-year old niece, comes in to wish me Happy Birthday and smothers me with kisses.

6.25 - My mother comes to the door and sings the Happy Birthday song to me.

6.30 - I go to the window to wave them off and a strong, distinctive perfume assails - the orchid we call 'the virgin' is in bloom. This is a strange variety that blooms every three months or so, and the blooms last one day only, but for that day the plant is covered with the inch-and-a-half, pure white flowers with a dab of yellow in the centre. I go to the door, and there they are, hundreds of snowy blooms gleaming on the stalks as the plant sways gently in the morning breeze.

6.31 - I look over to the front wall, where the purple petrea is showing off, inflorescences of lavender blooms with purple centres covering the plant. It's a breathtaking sight. This is the first flowering since we transplanted it over Christmas. These blooms last a little longer than the virgin orchid - about a week.

6.32 - I glance down at my mother's potted bougainvillea. It is the most beautiful bougainvillea I've seen, white blooms edged with delicate pink. When the flowers fall they look like rose petals. This plant is showing off, too, the branches heavy with masses of the blooms. On my birthday!

6.35 - Vaughn sends me a Happy Birthday text message. He's one of those sweet friends who always remember. Thank you, Vaughn.

6.50 - My son texts me. Ahh. Blessings, blessings.

7.00 - The Happy Birthday reminder the Chicken programmed into my cellphone goes off. I hit postpone so it could pop up again in 10 minutes, and wonder whether I should do that all day, just for the fun of it.

7.05 - I go to the front door, cup of tea in hand, and look at the flowers again. The impatiens are covered with spots of pink, lilac and salmon. There's a hummingbird zinging around in the petrea flowers, the breeze is cool and celebratory, the valley sparkles as the sun peeps over the hill, sending bright rays across the grass.

That minuscule advance for Café au Lait, the one I'm going to blow on a Nikon D40 digital SLR camera, is yet to arrive. I need my camera! I want to record these flowers, this day! Ye gods of advances, please hurry!

I have to get dressed and leave for work. I pause to reflect. I've had my share of crap to deal with in this life, but I have so much to be thankful for. I'm alive. I'm healthy. I have a beautiful family, a few great friends, and wonderful writer/blogging buddies. I've got a publishing deal for my first book, and there's interest in another. I'm polishing a third. There are others in the works, one a complete first draft, one about 15% written. I've got a day job that allows me flexibility and is not so demanding that I have no time or energy left for my own pursuits.

Why do I complain sometimes? Why do I? So what if my life isn't perfect? Whose is, really? And how do I know that, imperfections and all, my life isn't exactly what it's supposed to be right now?

I really must get dressed and get to work. It's going to be a lovely day!