Sixty

One of my friends celebrated her sixtieth birthday today. I was invited, along with some other friends to her party and we had homemade sandwiches,  champagne, coffee, tee and homemade cakes. We sang songs and there was a speech where reflections were made from her long career as an actor, director, dancer and teacher. Humorous anecdotes were told,  we all had a good laugh and an opportunity to share moments from our own various careers. The youngest at the party is thirty eight and the oldest (me) sixty five. Nobody got too drunk or nasty or otherwise unpleasant and I felt everyone learned something they didn't know about the others during the evening. In short, we had a lovely time.

I have been to a lot of birthday parties over the years, all special in their own way but the remaining feeling during and afterwards is always about belonging. Of the people in this particular party are some I vaguely know, some  I've known for years, some from work, others from friends of friends. Most important is to be reminded that I'm not at all as alone as it might feel during periods of not seeing or talking to anyone other than the ones I bump into in the shop or in the street. 

Noticing how all the various groups of people I'm part of in all sorts of context during daily life helps me realise the amount of comfort, friendship, safety and strength they give me in various ways. Also it helps me recognise which groups makes me feel small or sad and avoid them, or change my behaviour when I meet them. Hopefully it gives me strength and courage to join new groups in the future or to see the potential in the people I happen to bump into while shopping. Thinking about these things certainly makes my day feel a bit lighter and positive.

The parcel contained a beautiful hand made pillow made in a certain technique of felting wool. It was the perfect present and a total success.