Happy Mother's Day Mom

Recieving

I get immense joy from giving, but being on the receiving end, not so easy for me.  When JOB generously offered to throw me a birthday party in NYC I accepted, but knew I had stepped way outside of my comfort zone.  To be the recipient of so much love makes me feel vulnerable.  For weeks now, just thinking about the party reduced me to tears.  In and of itself, this milestone birthday triggered conflicting emotions, but I was also overwhelmed by the love being directed towards me.  I recalled Brene Brown's belief that vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change, and kept walking through the fog banks. 

JOB, on the surface, you threw me a kick ass birthday party illuminated by the Empire State Building, serenaded by a Latin Jazz trio, and surrounded by my friends.  On a deeper level,  you gave me the experience of receiving with grace, and opening up my heart to the hearts that encircle me.  No surprise, tears are streaming down my face as I write this.  Still blown away.  I love you.

24 Hour Celebration

After delays due to weather, a delinquent car service, and construction on the BQE I finally arrived at  CB's loft at 130am, exhausted.  But finding my childhood friend engaged in lively conversation with my college roommate, I immediately perked up.  It was a Friday night after all, and the reason we were coming together was to celebrate my birthday.  We finally crawled into bed at 230am, and awoke early to sunny skies despite the meteorologists gloomy forecast.  Meandering on the lower east side on a sunny spring morning added a jolt of excitement.  SJP joined us for a walk across The Brooklyn Bridge, a structure I had never crossed on foot.  My brother, who had spent the night in Brooklyn, met us half way.  Epic. Epic. Epic  Hard to believe this was just the precursor to a celebration that evening.  Storm clouds moved in during our late lunch in Little Italy, and a run through Chinatown under big raindrops was exhilarating.  Day transitioned to late afternoon, thunder and lightning performed overhead, and it was time to shift focus to a little pre-party primping.

Monkey Dreams

Every night, Monkey makes an appearance in my dreams.  Last night I was looking at old childhood photographs.  I was very young, seven perhaps, sitting at our dining room table.  The photo was capturing an occasion, perhaps my birthday, and I was holding a cat.  Growing up, we had a cat, Spots, and so I assumed that was the pet in my arms.  Then the photo turned into a GIF, and the cat started moving towards me and it was clearly Monkey.  I couldn't believe I never knew that Spots was, in fact, Monkey.  Reverse incarnation? 

Video Village

Missing Monkey

May

“It's spring fever.... 

You don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache,

you want it so!”
-  Mark Twain