Today is my birthday. I love birthdays. They don’t
have to be mine for me to be fizzing like pop, I am known to be the proverbial
firework when it comes to celebrating other people’s birthdays too, but today
is mine and I awoke with a feeling of real happiness.
It isn’t just receiving Happy Birthday wishes or
even the thoughtful gifts that makes me happy, it is the wonderful fact that I
really am grateful to be alive and my Birthday reminds me that my life is a
gift.
This morning I am playing David Bowie tunes, I am
drinking super strong coffee and eating marmite toast, I am breathing the
beautiful clean silken air in the garden, I am absorbing the feel of the day. As I think about my life I think of my
daughter. My daughter was born 22 years ago. Her name is Katherine Fiona, which
means ‘pure light’, and she is to coin a phrase the light of my life.
A thought struck me a few months ago that although
she does not know all the ups and downs twists and turns of my life, how often
her own life follows the pattern of mine. By having her it is as though I have
experienced the joy and pain of being me and then the joy and pain of her
becoming her….and while she is different from me in so many ways, in so many
more we are alike. So that when I play David Bowie tunes full pelt she joins in
with the mad dancing and singing, and we even have the same taste in shoes…..check
these out she bought me for Christmas!
Sometimes when we are together I don’t feel as
though our ages are different at all, we laugh at the same stuff, we discuss
what is going on in our minds and bodies, and share the same indignation and
rage at injustice and inequality.
This last was brought home to me when Kate decided
on the research subject of her current Masters in Fine Art. Unlike her
contemporaries she has chosen to explore the objectification of women in art. I
studied for a Masters in Philosophy some years ago and instead of following my
legal career I chose to explore the obstacles to career progression for women.
We had never discussed my Masters and as far as I know she knew nothing of it
before she made her own choice. When I asked her why she had chosen this she
said ‘I am not afraid to try and use my skills
as an artist to make the world a better place for women’ …..She is not
afraid to voice her thoughts, and she is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs
either. I tell you when I look at her it is like looking at me. And when I see
this concern for the world growing in her it makes me feel a wonderful joy that
this little apple fell near enough to me for me to watch her blossom.
Kate has her first exhibition in London soon, if
you want to go and have a look at what she and other young women like her are doing then check this out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ygtcollective/skin-croen
So….my dear women, on my Birthday….. I would like
to say a very big Happy Birthday to you too, and wish for you that whatever
fell near to your tree brings you heartfelt love and joy.
Best
Dee
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