An Exciting Day

Today is my birthday. I am only twelve years from being 100. I do not usually list gifts for any occasion, but I will this time. They included the Nook I’ve already mentioned, a gift certificate for a “case” to hold the Nook (I think it has another name, but I haven’t learned that yet), two kinds of Russell Stover sugar-free chocolates, pictures of some of my grandchildren, two lovely inspirational books, and I was treated to lunch a few days earlier.

Another one I hope to receive is some award from the Idaho Writers Conference that ends tonight in Pocatello. That is not a birthday present, of course, but it occurs today. What better time? I have already promised to let you know about that when I know.

As a child, I was not much on the receiving end of the gift line. I was the middle child and never indulged. Many are like this, and some never get over it. I did get over it. In fact, I hardly realized it happened at the time. I saw through all that sort of thing only as a married woman. I realized it, understood why, and proceeded to forget it. It was not going to rule my life and it hasn’t. But perhaps one good result of it is that I love to give presents. I think one does that when one has gotten over the middle-child-syndrome.

And to top off the day, C-SPAN 2 is doing its usual weekend of authors’ talking about their new books with some brief interviews. I often want to buy the new book in review, but no longer. Nook will get it, if anything. I’ll buy it that way and that’s not the same thing. How I love the feel and look of real books, and the smell of leather-backed ones. If two generations of my family would remain stateside, they would get most of those gems from my shelves, but they keep moving from continent to continent, or from state to state.

But some special volumes I will not let go, even if I cannot read them again. I can hold them in my hands and relive the story from memory. Think of the millions of people who cannot do that. ♥