Double Happiness

Here's a shout out to my dear beautiful Jodi (the brilliant writer of The J Spot) for her birthday and my fun exciting friend Trent of Pink Is The New Blog for his! And my friend Bud from my misspent youth just had a new arrival yesterday -- Lila Ardell Sharp-Ballinger! And a belated birthday wish for my dear witty lovely friend Laura of Notes From The Handbasket. May this month be filled with fun and joy.

So since this is a birthday post, what would I wish all my nearest and dearest for their big days? Birthdays can be both thrilling and difficult. It's a time to take stock of all that has happened and a look to the future. Some years are hard to leave, others can be put down as a "learning experience." (Thirty-eight was a tough one for me. I did lots and lots of learning, painful learning.) First, I wish for the spirit of gratitude. Everyone from a voodoo priestess to Joyce Meyers suggests that gratitude in life is of utmost importance. I can't think of a religious or secular tradition that doesn't say being grateful as one of the easiest and most effective ways of improving one's life. This practice is both easy and difficult, to count the blessings. People disappoint us, our financial situations can be tough, our days can be spent in a haze of regret. But in spite of this and maybe in our worst times, we need to say thanks even if we don't feel it.

I once ordered a sushi roll called Double Happiness. I ordered it because of the name. My favorite roll is the Temptation (no shock there), and I loved the Marlon Brando at the now closed Nami in Ferndale. Double Happiness was pretty good. So I wish you all double happiness in whatever form you like. Lots of fun. The boat in the Raymond Carver poem about having all his friends around and lots of food and whatever anyone wanted. It would all be on his boat. No one would want for anything! So may you be on Carver's boat with me, enjoying the ride.