March, April and May this year were certainly times for contemplation on the passage of time.  We celebrated Pat’s 75th birthday (my sister-in-law) at her son Bob and wife Sandra’s home in April.  It was quite simply wonderful to share the family warmth and connection with a low key afternoon family party.  My dear friend Mickey celebrated her 75th as well while I was in Mexico in March and unable to attend her party.  Mickey, her husband Gordon and I often call ourselves the three musketeers … so often we have travelled together, exploring the world.   I love them both dearly.  We will simply have to celebrate anew this summer when I see them!!  I met both Pat and Mickey in 1971 when I was just a 19 year old, often naive, often giddy, young woman… I met Pat shortly after I started dating her much younger brother Brian 😗 …. Mickey, during an adult ballet class we fortuitously, had both signed up for … The Russian School of Ballet in Calgary!!   A friendship forged in such an auspicious setting, could only have evolved into this wacky crazy friendship that I value dearly today …. a friendship that has endured over the decades … so much fun the two of us had in that class … I can still laugh out loud today at some of our antics during class time …. we are both as far from being elegant ballet artists as one could imagine but for some inexplicable reason, at the time, we thought we had little ballerinas living inside us :)!      Life hardly flows in one direction for any of us  … so much meandering  and checkpoints are necessary along the way for growth, personal power and evolving to take place.   Musings for another day perhaps ….

May heralded my own 64th birthday, so graciously organized, celebrated and hosted by my children and their partners and oh my, my little Aliana and Oliver, always in the center core of parties!  They continue along, wrapping and weaving their little selves deeply into the fibers of my heart.  May 13th is our son Tim’s 29th birthday …. his last year of the twenties … wow where do the years fly … my “baby” 29??!!  There are many March, April and May birthdays on my side of the family, in addition to the above  ….. my darling son, two brother in laws,  two sisters, two nieces, two nephews, my father!   Lots of love must have been in the air from August to September in previous years :)!!   So yes, many birthdays brought many reflections this spring.   Life is truly a bounty of goodness if we just take the time to allow it in.  I do.