46 years

Today is my birthday. I remember birthdays, birthday parties, sandwhiches, jell and blancmange, birthday cake and candles, friends and games and fun and love and laughter. we didn;t manage the jelly and blancmage today. but everything else was there.

Odd isn't it the things we remember from our childhood, memories that spark other memories and the things that speak to us of security and the things that remind us of our fears.

When I think of birthday parties I remember the table! we had a drop leaf table that I remember from my childhood as being huge...in reality it is smaller than the table we have now. It still exists I think..well it did until fairly recently if it has gone now. When both leafs were up we coul sit round it as a family...Mum, Dad and my 5 brothers and myself...I often got to sit by the cupboard bit in the middle... that inconvenience had it's benefits...there was a ledge alng the side of the cupboard where I could secrete my crusts. of course my remembering he party is interupted by remembering that table and other thoughts of the table come to mind. I remember hidig in the cupboard....sarching in the cupbord for tights...crawlin ino the cupboard and being impaled on a kniting needle or worse still a nappy pin that had not been closed! finding a piece of the electric bit of mecano my brother had lost and him beating me up claiming I had hidden it...I can't acually remember which brother that was but I remember him sitting on me and peeling my hands open to get it! Now, having seperated similar tousles here I am not really sure if he beat me up or was it me being obnoxious and did I actually hide that piece in the first place??? I dont remember but am not so inclined to claim unfairness as I remember being on that day!

so back to today, i had coffee and bacon sandwhiches with friends at the local garden centre...hmmm I had invited a friend out for coffee and cake...had to pop t town on the way for prescriptions and I needed to get coffee from Tesco...friend offered to get the jar of coffee whilst I went to the doctors. No onl did she buy me he jar of coffee but had ought m a birthday cake too, so sweet of her. So off we set to the garden cenre...only i got confused and missed the turing and we ended up ging 7 miles along the main road further than we should before turning back...well i had offered to take her out for coffee and cake and she had got that!!!

SO We did eventually make it to the garden centre and with another friend joining us we tucked into bacon sarnies and coffee/tea. Our conversatio flowed easily punctuated with laughter...then he other friend who was joining us flashed past in her car and we qickly dispensed of the evidence of our starters to begin again once sh joined us...the laughter and friendship flowed with more coffee accompanied this time with cakes. it was all to soon time to move I had to collect Eve from preschool and othr had things to get on with for the day. But it had been a lovely morning.

In the early afternoon my door knocked and another friend had come to wish me hapy birthday...her two young children came in bearing gifts, chocolates, more cake and flowers...how kind some people are. We spent the afternoon in chat, playing with the chidlren and letting them play outsde as the sun had come out at last. Eve was thrilled to have friends round just for her and she enjoyed playing outside on the deck with her Walker chasing her friends.

We ended the day with a chinese takeaway. It was delicous and everyone enjoyed!
A wonderful birthday!

Now he winds are picking up...praying all stay safe tonight and through tomorrow as storms once more batter Englands Green and pleasant land.

prayer appreciated for Tia and those around her. Trina and Jophie, my heart is burdened for prayer for all those birth mothers grieving for the children in the care of others for whatever reason.

I do not know what the future holds but I am glad I know who holds the future!