Today's Your Birthday

I suppose the older you get it naturally follows that the calendar fills up with anniversary dates: someone's birthday, an anniversary of their death or how long it has been since you've lived in a particular place. Although the yearly markers can be painful or bittersweet, it is evidence of a life well lived, or so I hope.

It seems that each month now has several sad anniversaries in it. Today would have been Sandy's 30th birthday - something most people take for granted. It seems so unfair to have such a talented and special person not even make it that far. It definitely gives credence to the saying "only the good die young".

I don't know whether there is any awareness after death; I'd like to think so and know that Sandy would be honored by her memorial service tomorrow. Her closest friends, some food, drink and a tribute to who she really was - no religious mumbo-jumbo, no church service. Friends, shared memories and camaraderie. The important things.

Happy Birthday to you, Sandy, wherever you are. Thanks for being such an inspiration and good friend. You are greatly missed.

Little Purple Dress

After a sumptuous lunch of graduation party leftovers on Tuesday, two friends and I drove 30 minutes north to a consignment shop that we'd heard about. This isn't your run-of-the-mill thrift store; it's set up like a high-end boutique. The window displays look like something you might see at the mall; mannequins wearing pretty dresses that it's hard to imagine someone getting rid of. The store itself is spacious, sunny and the sales person (a volunteer) was sweet and helpful. The merchandise was well organized, clean and plentiful.

The proceeds all go to HAWC -- Help for Abused Women and Children. In these times when state and federal funding for social programs are shrinking it's nice to be able to support (in some small way) a worthwhile charity, and get a good deal in the process.

After trying on a number of tops that didn't fit I came across this plum colored Ann Taylor dress, brand new, with the original tag still on. It was a size 8 so I wasn't optimistic when I entered the changing room, but when I zipped it up I was amazed. It fit like a it was made for me! It's quite a bit lower-cut and shorter than my usual but it was less than half price and fit so well that I couldn't resist it. Plus, my 2 friends were egging me on, what choice did I have? I'm planning to knit a bamboo lacy wrap to cover my shoulders since there is a lot more exposure than I'm used to.

Pity the price had been cut off, then I would have been able to gloat at how much money I saved!