One Saturday morning I woke to realize it was my birthday again. Usually, my spring birthday means cool temperatures with lilacs or lily-of-the-valley perfuming the air, but this one reached over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully the morning was still mild for breakfast on the deck with Elsa.
She had set out special dishes for me, so I ate my smoothie and drank jasmine tea in style. Also at my place was a bowl with special notes from my family, including a couple of "adopted" sisters across the country. They had been scheming early and sending surprises in care of Elsa!
Along with some rest, the morning was filled with birthday food prep. I frosted the tiny cake I'd made a few days earlier to my diet specs.
Mom frosted the cake she made for herself and Dad while Elsa processed some of the few ingredients she can currently handle. After spreading them in a pan to cool, she had "bars" that reminded her of chocolate and caramel.
Early afternoon we loaded the van with a picnic supper and drove off for a little change in routine.
First stop: the greenhouses to see Maren and Jason a bit even though they were coming to celebrate with us on Sunday. We also had a few more plants to buy.
Next stop: a nearby state park we hadn't visited for years. In fact, it was only beginning to be developed the time or two we had seen it before. Now it is a popular family destination with several small lakes, hiking and biking trails.
Amazingly, the water was already warm enough for swimming, or in our case, wading.
Hundreds of sleek minnows visited the towering curiosities that disturbed their sandy lake-bed. Elsa's toes were apparently tastier than mine.
Dragonflies were a nice replacement for our usual mosquitoes. And they were almost as numerous - taking breaks to park in rows on dead twigs just overhead.
A picnic supper, windy candles and deliciously melty ice-cream were followed by more wading and watching the evening glow spread over the lake with knitting in hand.
It was so special to be surrounded by new sights and scents. Elsa and I said "It smells like a state park!" A familiar sweet pungence from our years of tent-camping around the state and country.
The next day we rested (Elsa and I attending church from the couch) and later celebrated again with M&J.
Birthdays often make me think of this conversation in C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian:
"Welcome, Child," he said.
"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," he answered.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."
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