1. There
are so many “precious things” that are presented to us each day;
discoveries and treasures found in simple moments, memories we wish to
store in our hearts and keep with us forever.
What precious things have you gathered in 2013?
Which memories from this year do you wish to keep with you always?
2. Blowing out the candles | You're another year older! How did you celebrate the passage of another year? Did it turn out the way you had hoped?
1. Of the many precious things that I have experienced in 2013, two remain my most vivid, two memories that never fail to soothe my soul and gladden my heart and create a deep sense of peace within. One is when we are safely in our great room, wood stove fire glowing, angel lights above it gleaming, kitties snuggied into their tuffets, and my greatest love sitting in his chair and I in mine. It feels safe and warm and loving.
The other place also involves my Tony and the kitties, and it is when we are warm and safe in bed for the night in our 'great green room,' with clean sheets (flannel in winter, lovely organic cotton in the summer) and both of us reading, both kitties settled on the bed, and kindly dark quiet surrounding us. It just does not get better than this.
2. We chose to celebrate our birthdays, six days apart (same year) in a lovely wooded campground in western Marin County (California), very near the Point Reyes National Seashore. To no one's surprise, we spent both days by the ocean, driving those twisty, windy windswept and nearly bare hills and seeing the dairy farms (known by letters, not names), cattle roaming the hills, and nearly always within sight of Mama Ocean. We visited several beaches and sat for a long time watching the waves roll lazily in, the sea blue and quiet, the sun glinting off the water. We talked about so many things -- children, aging, memories -- and soaked in the wisdom and peace of the eternal water and ancient land. We took a walk along the San Andreas Fault, the Earthquake Trail at the Point Reyes Visitor Center, where we were reminded of the enormous energy that is contained under our feet -- I felt it all the way through the top of my head -- and watched a group of school children running from marker to marker to read about the fault line and discover the natural features of the area.
I confess to feeling older and not especially loving that, especially walking along the trail with the kids running past us and their mothers and teachers following at a brisk pace. I want time. I want the days to slow down some -- just yesterday Tony commented on how fast they go by. I am grateful for each of them, but aware that there are fewer ahead than there are behind me.
I can close my eyes now and see the waves rolling in on the chilly beaches, sunlight surrounding us golden and warming. And I'd like to spend my birthday every year by our beloved ocean, drinking in that constancy.
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