Full Moon, Wine, Cupcakes & Friends

This year, I feel a bit spoiled for my birthday.

Firstly: gifts. I almost never get gifts from anyone but my husband and maybe one friend. Not so this year. The neighbor Natasha’s mother gave me 3 little blue bottles for tinctures plus an elegant green glass candle lantern to use on a table on Sunday. Monday, Joy came over to hang out for a few hours before work– she had to miss my party, so she gave me a book set of a fun fictional series (steampunk no less!) Today, Shayla gave me natural soaking salts for pain issues plus foot scrub and lotion for “barefooters” — which, hells to the YEAH! Later I got a cool hand-blown glass bowl from my red-haired pagan glass-blowing friend (we’ll call him ‘Finnegan’) — he even did the design in my power color (which is a dark crimson red.) He and his wife, ‘Ginger’– also a red-head of course– came over early to hang for a while with myself and Fara. Then I got herbs and tiny plant starts from ‘Dara’ (yet another friend from work). Lotions from Tess leftover from her Mary Kay days (a mismatch of interests if I ever saw it, Tess doesn’t wear cosmetics more than a couple times a year…) An expensive all-natural scented candle from Camilla. And– right in the middle of our cupcakes and wine and cheese and chatting– Kalden and Natasha came over, babes in tow, bearing a very large bowl of homemade kettle corn!! Something my guests were most appreciative of, given that we were running out of nibbles!

Lots of catching up with Dara, who I haven’t seen since last pre-Halloween. And a chance to socialize with Finn’s wife, Ginger, who had more pizzazz and snap to her this time than when last we met. We determined Dara was a Type 7 on the Enneagram, and I compared ‘updated’ astrology personalities with the 2000 year old version that most believe themselves to be. Interestingly– half the time people fit their ‘new’ sign, and half the time their ‘old’ sign. Fara and Dara both helped me bake cookies and cupcakes when I had to make second batches of goodies. I was very conservative on the drinking and barely got more than slightly tipsy, since with the hiking and such, I have to be very gentle on my body. Seems it was the right thing to do, as I’m not feeling so bad now before bed…

I think things have shifted from the “I’m not worthy” attitude I carried for way too long, and perhaps that has something to do with why people seem to be spoiling me this year. Just last October I mentioned a dream in which I realized I wasn’t allowing myself to be nurtured enough to balance out the energy I expend on others’ behalf: lucretiasheart.livejournal.com/981204.html

It seems that trend is slowly reversing. I’ve had other gatherings on my birthday, but rarely had many presents to show for it (not that I even care that much, but there is a shift this year pretty obviously, so of course I have to wonder about it– can’t seem to help myself!)

And– AND my husband is being extra sweet, patient, and spoiling me once more this year. We’re going to the coast this coming weekend to stay in a really nice hotel, ocean and beach views from the windows, attending the Razor Clam Festival in Longbeach to have fun and go clamming ourselves.

You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d get leery and start to suspect I’d been secretly diagnosed with a terminal illness. That’s how stark the generosity and kindness seems to be to me lately. You’d think I’d just relax and enjoy it– and I AM enjoying this very much and no mistake. I’m just not used to it I guess.