Tuesday 19 February 2008

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!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!
the flowers sound lovely, so I too wait anxiously for that D40 to see them :-)

Matt said...

Nikon???? Nooooooo!!!!

err... I mean Happy Birthday! It sounds so beautiful. My wife's birthday is tomorrow. :)

(I'm tremendously jealous. Tomorrow the high temperature here is -8 C.)

Anonymous said...

Happppyyyy Birthdayyyy!!

I am not sure how to pronounce the above but try "festive." :)

Nice descriptions and I hope the rest of your day is bright and sunny as the start. I also hope you feel happier and not older though older isn't too bad I suppose, once you are not too old that is - just joking :)

I never try to sway people to Pentax and away from Nikon because I like Pentax more than Nikon. Whatever feels better around your neck, I always say.

Anonymous said...

BTW: That video is just perfect :)

PJ said...

Happy Birthday Liane! I especially enjoyed your description of the Virgin Orchid, what a nice occurrence on your day.

The Anti-Wife said...

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Pacha said...

Oh! I hope the rest of the day continues in the same vein. What a beautiful gift to be greeted by the 'virgin' orchid this morning...*sigh* beautiful!

And as for your reflections - it's wonderful that you know that you have much to be grateful for. But don't beat yourself up about complaining. I think we all have the right to complain and feel sad too. (At least this is what I tell myself ;)) We should stop feeling so guilty about our bad days...

I hope that cheque arrives TODAY. That would make today perfect!

BEST BEST BEST WISHES LIANE! Have a great special day!

Jenny Beattie said...

Wordtryst
Very many happy birthday wishes. That sounds like a near perfect day to me. Family and friends remembering, wishing you well and kissing you is just fabulous.
Happy Birthday
JJx

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Happy birthday, it sounds like bliss, hope the rest of the day was as beautiful as the start.

Dx

Aine said...

Happy Birthday from Jason and I!!

Liane Spicer said...

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. The day continued as it started, just an ordinary one but with an extra sparkle.

Matt, Happy Birthday to Mrs. Matt! I don't envy you your frigid weather one bit.

Akalol, the Nikon D40 is their entry level DSLR, but it's been getting rave reviews even from the pros. Pentax was my first choice - up until I read those reviews. And I do feel happier rather than older, although I still can't figure out how I came to be my parents' age!

Hopefully, next time that orchid blooms I'll be able to post a photo on the blog rather than try to describe it...

Pacha, it's so much easier to accept the good days. When the bad days cycle around I feel I can do nothing right. Counting my blessings really helps then.

Thank you all so, so much for sharing my special day.

Sandra Cormier said...

Oh, to wake up on a sunny morning to smell flowers and hear birds singing... Oh, hurry up, Spring!

I realize I'm a day late but I hope you had a fabulous birthday.

Kate.Kingsley said...

Happy (belated) birthday! :-)

Very jealous of the flowers, here in sub-zero England....

kim said...

Happy birthday! ...late

I hope we don't lose you to flickr once you get that camera. You are going to love that camera -- we got the D30 and took it back for the D40, it is worth every extra dollar.

Too bad you weren't closer, we could take a photography class together :o).

Matt said...

*cough* Canon30D *cough*
*cough* Amazingselectionoflenses *cough*

;-)

kim said...

camera people, don't kill me -- I don't have a nikon, I have a canon.
I knew there was a 40 and a D invlolved in there somewhere. I love, love, love my camera, so much so, I really want to understand it better -- get to know it. The great thing about digital is I can learn a lot through trial and error, but it would be nice to be more purposeful with my dial spinning :o).

Mighty fine lense choices with the canon -- does that help your cough Matt?

kim said...

you said canon, not nikon -- never mind. I'll get you a cough drop.

Lane Mathias said...

Happy Belated Birthday!
I hope the rest of the day was as lovely as the first hours:-)

I love your descriptions of the flowers. Sounds like a little slice of paradise.

Hope the Nikon is in your hands soon:-)

Liane Spicer said...

Thank you, Chumplet! It was a very good day.

Kate, thank you for dropping by. Don't be jealous. I've heard that when your blooming season comes around nothing here can rival those English gardens!

Kim, thank you! Wouldn't it be wonderful to do that class together? Oh well... Maybe some day. :) And I don't think you'll lose me to Flickr, although I've seen it happen with a blogger I really liked. Now he posts on his blog about once every other month.

Matt, that's a bad cough you've got there...!

Thanks for the greeting, Lane. Yes, it can seem like a slice of paradise once I put on the blinkers and ignore the runaway crime, inflation likewise, falling standards, corruption... But I'm pretty good at narrowing my focus to the good stuff, like my mother's flowers and the great scenery. Helps to keep me sane and happy.

Kaz Augustin said...

And, late I know, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!