There are days in my life that stand out as shining jewels. And there are days that are benchmarks, where I chose to follow a road and that has made all the difference. And then there are days so full of pleasures and small discoveries that your positive energy bank is tipped deeply into the black. I had a day like that today.

Firs, I chopped my hair off yesterday. And I'm not a tiny bit sorry, though I look like someone entirely different. I actually feel quite like someone entirely different lately, and it suits my soul right now. Patrick was going through something important today, and I sent energy strongly in that direction. I sat on the beach this morning for nearly three hours, and journaled for most of it. I drank iced coffee, I got some things off my chest, I got to the bottom of some worries and stirrings. I watched the tide come all the way in, soaked in the sunshine, abandoning the umbrella, which I normally find unthinkable. I watched the dragonflies and the piping plovers, looked for seashells, wandered into the seagrass which tickled my knees, and was utterly, totally alone on this outdoor expanse.

I had several meaningful conversations, and reminisced about joyful moments - martinis on a deck, the drive Chris and Dan and I took to San Diego, listening to Earth Wind and Fire, a walk in the woods behind Rolling Green, a trip to Florida. I had a perfect soundtrack for my ride home: Fantasy by EWF, Oooh Child by the Five Stairsteps, Country Roads by John Denver, Don't Fence me in by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters and On a Clear Day, which is my favorite hymn to joy. I stopped at a farmstand on the way home and bought this:



Which I then turned into this:



Which may be the most perfect lunch in the history of human-kind. I defy you to think of one more satisfying and colorful.

The next part I can't tell you...it's too embarrassing...okayfineI'lltellyou. I'm watching Somewhere in Time, which was the first romantic movie I ever saw where I totally GOT it. "Oh! THIS is what the poets meant! THIS is what it feels like!" No wonder my romantic relationships have always been so twisted - look at the baseline standard! I pity every boy who's ever liked me.

And then, to top off my day of delights, Craig sends the the following link in response to my blog yesterday regarding mouse dioramas - and this is the second best thing anyone has ever sent me on the internet. I leave you with the following gift from my beloved friend, and you're welcome:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/magazine/peeps2010/index.html