Friday, January 22, 2010

And I Say to Myself....

"What a wonderful world!"

Know that song?  I share the songwriter's joy in nature almost daily, and I love the line about "friends meeting friends, saying 'How do you do'....they're really saying, 'I love you'".....but I wish I felt in general "What a wonderful world" more often, instead of lamenting all the ills of our world. 

I did feel that way on my birthday.  Fifteen of the snowbird women I've been getting to know down here came over for hors d'oeuvres and wine and birthday cake and coffee and it was an absolutely lovely evening.  Having lived as a single since age 28 (single mother, though, blessed with my son) I've come to the comforting realization that as long as there are people in the world, I am never really "alone."  So many friendly, caring people everywhere you go.

Here I've found an outstanding example of that.  The people I'm getting to know who also snowbird down here are all such fun, such varied individuals, every one of them with fascinating life stories.  (Discovered the same thing in other areas I've spent winters over the last five years, too...)

And while I hesitate to post the group photos of us all, not knowing them well enough to know whether they might have objections to their pictures appearing on a public blog like this, I can post the birthday cake....replete with sixty candles, because it's been a long time since I've had my own birthday cake and I wanted to blow them all out!  (And did so just in time to save the cake decorations from burning up!)


(Click to enlarge)
Chocolate with fudge layers and chocolate buttercream frosting...mmmmm!

So to those of you who haven't lived alone, but may find yourself so in years to come, know that there are so many caring people for you to find in the world, that you are never really alone.