Birthday

So today is my birthday. I have mixed feelings about it.

I'm another year older, and I feel ancient. I have wrinkles and saggy boobs, varicose veins and several rolls of fat around my middle (forget the beer boep - I have a tyre!). My skin is looking weathered and old, and having 2 kids has made the skin on my tummy feel like an old woman's. Yup, I feel and look old.

But, on the up side, I love celebrating my birthday. It's the one day in the year when I'm guaranteed to be told how special I am, how much I'm loved, and that I bring joy into the lives of those who love me.

As always, it is raining in Cape Town. No-one believes me, but I know, because it's MY birthday - it ALWAYS rains in Cape Town on the 21st Nov. Always. Today is no exception. It's pouring, and I can hear thunder in the distance. I had hoped to have lunch at Kirstenbosch, but there's no way I'm venturing out in this weather!

I had a lovely start to the day - I got breakfast in bed. In fact, even better, I got to snuggle with the 2 people I love most and we ALL had breakfast in bed together. The only thing that would have made the morning perfect is if Zoe had been with us. She would have been 8 months old this weekend, and probably already sitting on her own and crawling, possibly even starting to stand on her own. The ache in my heart is very present today.

Graeme, bless him, wrote me a beautiful heart-felt letter, in which he blessed me on this my "38th" birthday! And he's the mathematician in the family! I had to laugh.

Sadly, no real birthday celebration today as most of my friends are sitting in London, and the majority of those I have here are all teachers in the throes of marking, and the rubbish weather means no nice outdoors lunch. But maybe I'll wake Graeme up (he's napping) and drag him out for a light lunch somewhere else anyway. A girl's got to celebrate somehow!