No photos, sorry!

It's coming up on 11:00 PM, Saturday. I'm exhausted. Had a GREAT day today, starting with finishing up the few little garden projects I was "stressing" about leaving undone.

Family and friends began arriving for my birthday party around noon, as requested, and from that point, I totally relaxed and just enjoyed the day. It is not every day you survive two rounds of life-threatening illness and feel the joy of reaching 60. That's 6-0! Yes, yes, I know, many of you reading this are saying, "Gee, I remember 60!"

See, the thing is, I used to look at 60 and think, "That just sounds OLD!" But now I'm here, it ain't. It isn't. It's just a number that is truly meaningless. It's how you got to 60, how many carcasses of relationships are strewn behind you and, then, how many times a day you're still able to laugh - deep, real, belly-laughs. That's what has meaning. And, oh, yes, how many good, strong, loving, caring relationships you have now - that's the other part.

I believe that we live our lives essentially alone, within our own skin. We cannot live for another person, nor they for us. But living alongside someone who adds dimensions to your life that wouldn't exist if not for that person - that's the good stuff. If you have it, you know exactly what I'm saying. If you don't, that's okay, too. Really. Because, you're still you, still living inside your own skin and no one can take that away from you unless you choose to give it away.

So, to each person who came by our little house on Fir Street and wished me "Happy Birthday!", for every nice (and, Marshall, naughty!) card, for the awesome cake my daughter, Laura, made of which not a crumb was left when the last guest departed, for the gorgeous bird bath that found its perfect place in my front garden (gift from Daughter Sara, hubby, and two little granddaughters, Emma and Hannah), for Rick and Danny who sweated along with me from 8:00 to noon, getting those last few garden projects finished, for my loving husband of 30-some years who right this moment is in the house snoring in his LaZyBoy chair waiting for me to come back in and drag him off to bed, for my cat Nacho who took seriously his responsibility to greet nearly every guest as they arrived today until exhaustion drove him to find a sleeping spot - THANK YOU!

To my young-adult grandchildren, Jessica, Matthew, and Krista and to GREAT-grandbaby Jake who stole the show, and to Emma who made me my purple birthday "crown" and to Hannah who picked Mountain Marigolds for me - I love you more than words can say. You are the icing on the cake of my life. And, for me, the icing is the best part. Yeah. If I'd known being a grandma was going to be so much fun, I'd have skipped the mother part and just gone right to "grand".

Today was perfect! Thank you, God!

(You're welcome, Nancy.)

More from Albuquerque tomorrow night.

NL