Big Birthday

It was my birthday a few days ago. As always, I like to spend that day with my children and sometimes with very close friends. I also like to spend some time with myself, in contemplation. A few friends asked me if it was ” a big birthday ” ? And that set me thinking……

How big is a “Big” birthday? Every year one gets “bigger” in many directions (size, also!). You spread yourself more as more issues and responsibilities take up bigger portions of your life.  I remember a long long time ago, a group of us fairly young mothers were enjoying a cup of coffee together. Our children were playing at one end of a lovely long verandah.  As children do, they had started to boast about whose “dad was tallest, strongest, etc”. Then one of the boys decided to announce how “big” his mother was……”My mother is 36 years old!” he said, with great pride. Soon the other children followed, each one announcing their mother’s ages. And then, my little son, all of 5 years old, said as loudly as possible -” My mother is 20 years old.”  My son could not count beyond 20 and that was his “big” number.  So I was 20 years old then! All the mind, yes?

As the years go by, I feel blessed for each day that is granted, and that is Big. So, yes, every year is Big. And I am blessed and grateful to get bigger each year. 

And talking about Age…..how does one calculate that? Physical, chronological, mental, emotional, spiritual?  Many years ago, I wrote this small poem, hoping to express age:

” I do not remember the years

that I have.

Perhaps they are too many

or too few.

My smile, you tell me,

is young and charming.

But there are lines

on my face,

here, here and here.

And my eyes, you say,

are 

a hundred years old.

How then

can I remember

the years that I have?”

Looking back, I realise that Time is not measured by the seconds or hours or years…….because Time is like the conductor of a grand symphony and plays out our lives, with a different rhythm for each and everyone. Sometimes, you have to spin, sometimes float, sometimes dance……

Sometimes I feel like I’m rambling and not making much sense. 

So, bye for now.