Tuesday - 312th

A huge day, a good day, a day filled with hope and love.

First of all there is the date: my younger girl was born on this day many many years ago! I could tell you all the ways in which I love that girl, but I don't think I need to do that: you will have guessed much of it over many Ocean posts! However, I will allow myself a tiny nostalgic flashback to when she was still young, college age maybe and she was the most perfect traveling companion. Each year she picked the destination and the two of us would set off. One year, she picked Morocco. 

The two of us traveled by train from Casablanca to Marrakech and if she felt any trepidation (on this or any other of our trips), she did not let on. Always calm, collected, rising to the occasion, always with an eye toward all things beautiful, be it the Majorelle Gardens or in our exquisite Riad El Fenn, where we escaped to in the hot afternoon hours of each day. 

On one such quiet siesta period, I dumped all my dirty travel clothes into the sink and proceeded to do a massive handwashing operation. Within the hour our beautiful room was covered with undergarments and dripping sundresses. My daughter looked with horror at the transformed space. 

Are you going to leave the clothes like that? -- she asked.

Surprised, I nodded my head. They're drying.

But mom, look at this beautiful room! It looks... not good.

And that's so like her! To question the inappropriate, the unfair, the pushing and shoving, the pomposity and in your face arrogance, the chaos, the lack of attention to style. That's her, walking the streets of Paris at age seven with carefully tied bows on her black shoes, picked by her for the occasion. That's her with the sensitive heart, always holding me back in crowded streets so that I wouldn't get in someone's way. That's her looking at the beautiful room in Marrakech and letting me know that respect for your surroundings matters.

Happy, happy birthday, little one!

(from our travels to Paris when she was a very young teen...)

 

 

 

 

(from today! three generations in one frame!)

 

 

 

Other reasons to be chipper and cheerful today: the sun peeked out, as promised. Faintly, but with a suggestion that tomorrow it will be on full display.

(morning walk was on the cloudy side, and be afternoon, it began to snow...)

Breakfast was good, too, though I warned Ed that Dance better keep her nose out of my plate or else, she's out!

 

And then, as I once again turned to scrubbing groceries, I hear the news, great news, fantastic for us news: Wisconsin will begin (true, the emphasis is on the word begin) vaccinating my demographic starting next week. 

I cannot wait.

So, good day, sweet day, nice day. Once again, with gratitude and hope.

And love.