A Many-Splendored Gift...

When I set off on my adventure yesterday, my room was trashed.

Every available level surface, and some that weren't, was given over to boxes, and piles, and every sort of memorabilia. The bed was buried. Any untoward movement would risk a paperslide of epic proportions. I'd been "sorting".

As it was my birthday, I'd determined to take a break and give myself some flowers. So...door closed on the chaos, I took a deep breath and set out on my adventure... It was a wonderful adventure, which I'll write more about when I get the pictures back.

When I returned, satiated with sights, and sounds, and scents, grinning happily at my memories and ruefully anticipating the chaos which awaited me, I was totally unprepared for what I did find. There was a lovely tangerine envelope taped to my bedroom door. Its a beautiful color, and I gave an appreciative thought to my housemate, who enjoys colors as much as I do.

I opened the bedroom door...and was greeted by a riot of colored balloons....EVERYWHERE!!! Some of them were hanging in mid-air, others had descended and were festooning the drifts of papers, memorabilia, and other wreckage. Jewel-toned balloons, balloons in primary colors, big balloons, little balloons...!!!!!

I stood in the doorway and goggled for a moment. Wow, my very own garden, amidst my very own chaos.

My housemate is a jewel.

I'll keep the balloons, just as they are, and smile whenever I see them, while I continue sorting...

Dragons and other Mythical Creatures...

Birthdays are good days to remember who we are, and honor ourselves. There's been some discussion recently on a list I follow, about whether, if one could be a pet, one would be a dog, or a cat. "Dogs have owners, cats have staff". I suspect actually, that I was the catalyst for that particular thread. On reflection, I've decided I'm a dragon. Not an original conclusion. My mother dubbed me "dragon lady" long ago, partly because I was born in the Chinese year of the Dragon, and partly because, my personality, even at that age, fit her idea of what a dragon was. For years I've enjoyed reading Sci-Fi/fantasy dragon stories; they're as varied as the authors who pen them. When you combine all these modern stories about dragons with earlier mythology on the subject, its possible to conclude that no one really knows enough about dragons--including whether or not they exist, outside fertile imaginations. They could be wise, or downright venal, ethical, or stupid and cruel. Large, small, extinct, well-adapted and living among us...; the possibilities are endless. Most accounts agree that they have scales at some point in their existence, and that they have a rather different way of looking at the world. Oh yes...and that Dragons have Hoards. What they hoard...well, that seems to be as individual as the dragon in question. Like the fey, and unicorns, it takes a person with an abiding sense of wonder to really see them. Not that there may not have been many dragon sightings over the milennia; but, as with UFO's etc., people see what they expect to. Which leaves a great deal of latitude for self-definition... I'd make a rotten pet. I make a fascinating dragon. This morning, as I look in the mirror, checking to make sure my scales are properly polished, I make a point to remind myself to look on all things with wonder. That way I will see wonders. Who knows,...I may spot another dragon.

Life is Good!

Remember when you were very small, and felt secure, and loved, and so happy everything made you laugh? I can remember getting fits of the giggles. My mother would chase me, and catch me, and tickle me while I wiggled madly trying to escape, and I'd giggle myself breathless. I'd laugh so much that every time she looked at me I'd start again, even when she wsn't tickling me. Time goes by, and we all get older, and forget the simple, uncomplicated joys--or that's what I thought until very recently. I'd forgotten how much fun it was to just laugh till I was breathless, and then start laughing all over again as soon as I caught my breath. There's joy in sharing love and laughter, and that feeling of being so happy the air round me glows. This time I want to remember...