I Am This Woman

(36 of 50)

You know, even if we didn’t make it to all the “perfect” places in Austin, we made it TWICE to see my Knitting Guru, and that was solid gold.

She is a woman I met when I started attending the UU church and discovered that I was indeed a lifelong Unitarian but just didn’t know what to call it all those years. In 1995, I was pregnant and wanting connection, so I volunteered to teach Sunday School, after Guru J chatted me up and I discovered that we shared similar teaching philosophies.

I began to live for the days when she was able to stay after church talking and gabbling with me until we were embarrassingly the last folks to leave the parking lot, stomachs grumbling for lunch.

Eventually, I found my way to her house, which was filled with books and yarn and music and love. I soaked up the time with her, and mentioned that when I was 40 (which I regarded at the Age At Which Everything Would Be Over), I would take up knitting again. She looked at me a little askew and said, “why wait? I’ve been knitting forever since I was about 8 or 9.” Oh.

So I took up needles and tried again… and fast forward two years, and I have a baby in tow on the way to Australia on a lark, and my Make-Mistake-Snake on the needles on the plane. I completed this lovely snake toy for my child, having learned much about tension, switching from purl to knit and back again, dropping stitches, joining seams, slipping the first stitch on the row and counting each row each time to see that I did not drop a stitch.

Many thousands of conversations, games, visits, food, stories, books, yards of yarn and years later, and we were sitting around her table again tonight, talking a blue streak right up until I had to run out to dinner in order to get to sleep by 11 or so. And still we have conversations, knitting work and stories to finish and show/tell each other another time.

Tonight, I showed her my very favorite birthday present, a compilation art technique book that someone gave me thinking it wasn’t much of a gift, but it was better to pass it along than to toss it. OMG, both of us raved and drooled over it for an hour. She said, “Oh my, I LOVE THIS. It gives me SO many ideas!” EXACTLY! That’s the magic of it!

Such a treasured friendship. I am truly blessed, and to that she would say, “oh well, you know, it’s just what we do, isn’t it? No big deal. Glad to see you anytime!”

And later, my darling child said, “J is so sweet.” Why? I prompted. “Well, she just UNDERSTANDS what I’m into. She listens.”

Wow. Yes. That from a 12 year old who is priming himself for a typical but very non-conformist teenage (just like all teenagers). For both of us, we have a role model for very different (but really just the same) reasons. And that is just awesome.

Now all I can think of is what should I make her! I have a very good idea. Heh heh…

(35 of 50)

Just a quick moment here before kicking into the evening portion of the festivities…

I opened cards and the few packages I received just now, and there is no way to explain just how touched and moved I am for the little kindnesses I’ve received. A handmade card, a card hand-picked, a handwritten note, a scribbled note on a gorgeous postcard (or a silly one)… they are all precious to me.

The small gifts (to the giver) mean the world to me. You have NO idea. Tears sprang to my eyes each time I saw the loveliest of little things… each one was Something Wonderful.

There will be a proper accounting of these things, and the fun of receiving the cards over the last month (and I hear there are more cards to come!), but first, I need to finish celebrating, visiting and contemplating this day because it will not come again. It is a good day, one to be met with elan… so that the next day and days can be so met too.

No rest for this siesta from the 100 degree temps here today, but lots and lots of joy, laughter and love. Thank you all!

(34 of 50)

Yay me. I’m 50 today. Although it’s just another day, and I feel the same (ie, back pain if I sleep too long, need glasses to see computer screen, where’s my coffee?!, and all that jazz).

For today, visiting here in Austin, I am going to attempt a perfect day. One can never plan these things, but I’m going to hit a number of spots that I know to be awesome and cool and just regular deals, not completely FUNNED OUT AND SIX FLAGS EXTREME!

On my list, in no particular order, though I’m thinking about scones right NOW:

Texas French Bread

Waterloo Ice House

Threadgill’s

Hyde Park Bar and Grill

Hill Country Weavers

Zilker Park/Barton Springs

Lady Bird Lake bats (formerly Town Lake)

Toy Joy/Terra Toys

Bull Creek Park

and the hotel swimming pool, sauna and spa….

Spending some time nurturing the Writer Me

Hanging with my son and Miss Lucy

Brie and pepper water crackers

German chocolate cake

Sushi

Massage and hair salon visit

(and much more…)

Add to this mix my Knitting Guru, my cousin the atty-at-law, a handful of old friends, all my nieces and nephews, and it would be the perfect birthday. Alas, I think only the Guru knows I’m in town. Obviously, there is little chance that I will have the time, patience or desire to hit all those spots (as I type I can think of 10 more). I did the hanging out and drinking thing last night (to great amusement, and a slight headache this morning). I will also make phone calls to round up those far away that I do miss… and I have a STACK of unopened birthday cards/packages that I’ve been saving.

If we were going to make this a Perfect Day(tm), what I REALLY want is to be in Italy, Hungary or Spain… but that wasn’t to be this time. No worries, there are plans afoot for next summer already (which right now are leaning towards Paris and the UK. And why not! It’s all good. There is no magic to this one day, it’s how I live the days before and after it that matter… esp. the days that come after.

No, I can’t do it all today, and I may not be able to do it all in this lifetime. But I’ve got 50 more years to try (I am ambitious), and I’m not going to waste one day (though I am certain there will be some wasted hours in traffic, waiting rooms and the like, but I’m not even going to let THAT bug me!).

I am this woman, living the only life I’ve been given. And it’s not bad, people. Not bad at all.