HAPPY BIRTHDAY

My Pisces birthday is coming up

in a few weeks. And I've been working

all week on a memoir/cookbook for my children,

which involves lots of old family photos.

I'd been thinking about my grandma a lot--

the fun we had as she taught me to cook,

and I was missing her and my mom.

I mention these things only as preface

to a slightly mysterious happening yesterday.

We probably have around 3,000 books

in our house, scattered everywhere--

on bookcases, tables, in boxes, etc.

I was standing in front of one of the bookcases

while waiting on someone to arrive and,

without forethought, reached out

and took a random book from the shelf.

As I opened it, several cards fell out of it.

I was surprised, because I don't usually

put cards in books, but there they were--

a card from my children when they were small;

a tag such as received with flowers,

from my husband;

a card from my beloved grandma,

who's been gone over thirty years,

and one from my mother

(card pictured above), which read

this wish is for your birthday,

the love is for always...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clearly, the cards had been in that book

for a long, long time.

As I read them, tears came to my eyes...

and then I noticed

the title of the book, by Ayn Rand:

We the Living...