bluebird of paradise
november 23, 2006:

Can it get any better than this? The sun is splitting the rock, the sea is sparkling, it's my daughter's birthday and she is published in THE GLOBE AND MAIL !
I am bursting at the seams! I ran up and down the ailse in shopper's drug mart, telling everyone "my daughter has an article in the globe and mail". I bought up all the copies. I mailed one to her right away.
When I got home I phoned her and read it to her over the phone( as she lives in the deep south and it's almost impossible to get the paper there).it's a wonderful essay on Thanksgiving.
As i was reading it I burst into tears. It starts of kind of humorous and whimsical, then without warning it becomes profound. It's a wonderful piece about tradition, subtle cultural differences and mostly about family and love that transcends all differences.
And today is her birthday. How appropriate to have it published on her birthday.
When she was a little girl, maybe 3 or 4, I took her to the ballet. Dame Margot Fontane was doing her farewell tour. As a child I had dreamed of becoming a famous ballerina. It was a dream come true to see the greatest ballerina of modern times preforming her solo of the dying swan. It was such a moving event , I was wracked with sobs, loud snuffling sobs, so loud that people were turning around to see who it was.
I was totally overcome with joy. When the show was over I was determined that my daughter should remember this night all her life. I dragged her back stage and physically thurst her into the arms of Dame Margot...........
Perhaps that was a defining moment. I wonder if she remembers it?