It was my birthday today. The rain insisted we cancel the beach dinner party we had planned... and we didn't fancy organising the house for 20+ guests for dinner and drinks, so we just called it off in the spirit of 'ease and grace'.
This enabled me to open up to a new day of opportunities to celebrate.
The Gift of Time
I had the day off work, Sammi was on her last day of school holidays (starting high school tomorrow), Jerry had to go into the office and so Sammi and I decided to just chill out at home, letting the day unfold on it's own.
A Facebook message from a friend came in suggesting a café catchup for lunch. Perfect!! She had a place in mind with soul-full food that she had heard was great.
The food was spectacular, the ambiance was terrible; on a foot-path, on a main road, on a damp, rainy day... but it was the best lunch ever!
We shared more of ourselves in that three hours than we had had the chance to since meeting years ago. We laughed, cried, shared insights and our hearts. Most of all, we shared compassion and understanding for the really tough journey we had been on.
My heart just melted.
Caroline bought us lunch as a gift... but we both knew the real gift was the moments shared.
Juicy conversation
Next a text arrived from my beautiful friend Maree... yay! We met at a café and enjoyed a fresh juice while we caught up. It was just perfect. Another gift of time and connection.
Dinner and PRESENTS!!
We got home in time to greet Jerry home from work. We settled in for the night creating a simple dinner of vegetarian, make it yourself, wraps!! My favourite 'easy' meal. Steve (Ex hubby) joined us.
The celebrations began...and out came the presents. OH NO!!!
Steve proudly presented his WRAPPED bottles of wine and a CARD. We laughed. He was so proud of his purchase because it was something we could use, that would not clutter. It then dawned on him that the wrapping and card were the joke.
Sammi then presented her gift in the store bag... some earrings...yay! I then held her hand and said... now give me your card from your heart. She looked deep into my eyes and shared her feelings with me... it was gorgeous!
Now that's a heart-card.
Jerry then gave me my second present of the day (the first was a beautiful silver and turquoise pendant), a mobile charging unit.... yippee!! I loved it. I always steal his when out and about. It holds enough charge for 5 iPhones. Oh yeah!!
Oh, and it was in an old gift box (recycled). I loved that he did that!
He then spoke his heart-card... gorgeous!
But wait there's more...
Then he comes back into the room with another present...WTF!! Lucky me. It was in the store wrapping (yay) and was from IKOU - the organic goodies I buy. Yay...no clutter. It had a candle, some massage oil and a loufa.
We had a great night... relaxed, loving and full.
What went out - 11 items
I went through my belts drawer and put 11 in the donation box.
What came in - 5 items
My turquoise necklace, the loufa, the bag the IKOU goodies came in, the charging pack, and the earrings.
.
INSIGHTS
(1) Moments are the greatest gift of all
(2) When I open up to connection... the world connects
TOTAL: OUT - 586 IN - 48
I totally busted myself in the consumer trance again. It was hilarious! And the funny thing was I didn't know I was in it until I was away from it. Boy this journey is insightful. Here's what happened....
Birthday Dinner - Consumer ALERT woot, woot, woot!
We are planning a birthday dinner for yours truly. We walked around Terrigal yesterday and looked at a few places, grabbed some menus and made a tentative booking at two places.
I got home and took a bath as my back had been sore all day. Sammi and I reviewed the menus whilst in the bath when it dawned on me.
WTF was I thinking!!!
This is not true to do, nor it is in line with what I really choose or want. Woohoo!!
So instead we are cooking up an BYO BBQ at Terrigal Haven. The cost will be heavily reduced. Instead of $60 to $80 plus alcohol costs it should be far less and we will enjoy more.
So over the next few days I will whip up an invite for my good buddies and see if they want to join us for an afternoon/evening of good food, great friends, maybe some games and most importantly, connection.
The interesting thing is to position the present thing so that folks don't give me 'stuff'. Keep you posted as I come up with the best way to say it on the invite.
Wish-List Time (for the family)
Yesterday we spent time on our wish-list. We started with the items for the house. There are many things we need, want and would love. It is interesting sitting around with the family with a lovely cup of tea brainstorming items on the list.
We took it in turn. Sammi wanted her wall painted purple and her room painted like the spare room, Jerry wanted a new stove top, I wanted a new front door. We kept going until we had exhausted our ideas. The list is large but functional. Next weekend we will spend time prioritising it. What will we work towards first. This should be a fun session. May need more than tea to get through this...LOL.
Next we will work on the list of things we would like to do, see, explore. E.G. holidays, weekend bushwalks, movies etc. This will be loads of fun.
What Went Out - 1 Item
Jerry put a desk trinket in the gone-ski box. It was a present however it was never his thing. It doesn't devalue the love of the gifting, it is just not true to keep a gift that is not something you love.
What Came In - 0 Items
Doing well here. We are very conscious about what comes into our lives.
INSIGHTS
(1) When you put your guiding principals first, your imagination will find the truest solution
(2) Connecting is a natural human state and we all want and love it
2015 TOTAL: OUT - 296 IN - 4
