And the universe rained down upon thee

Today is a very special day. Not only does it mark the legal partnership into which I entered with my husband 11 years ago, it also is the 5th anniversary of dear Helen's freedom from terminal brain cancer. I know she's truly Dancing with Stars today! These 2 sweets should be enough, really, but I guess the universe thought differently! The blessings just keep flowing!

First, I breathed a great sigh of relief after rushing to my tea jar and discovering the green tea I've been drinking is DECAF! Whew. Miss Daisy reminded me of the caffeinated sort and I'm happy to report, I've been doing the decaf of that awesome brew all along!

But there's more! At 6 a.m., I opted out of my tea thing, preferring some java. Looking in the freezer to make up a cup from my aforementioned 4-year-old can of Folgers instant decaf, I found it gone! In its place was a pound of whole bean decaf my Beloved had gifted me last night. While that certainly would've been much yummier than the Folgers, I didn't want to sound the grinder and wake up the house. So I had nuttin!

Turns out, he'd already prepped the Bialetti with freshly ground decaf the night before (he is a thoughtful one, that Marty). Unfortunately the Bialetti only brews one ginormous cup at a time. And I drained that before leaving for my Coffee Klatch! During the drive, I called Marty and asked if I'd be a failure for drinking coffee at my meeting. He said, "What? Are you really jones-ing for some caffeine?" I told him, "No! I just like coffee, decaf or regular it doesn't matter. But they only serve regular at the meeting!" His solution was utterly preschool in its simplicity: "get a decaf at Casey's on the way." Huh. Problem solved. No need to relapse!

Unbelievably, two more blessings would find me before the clock struck Noon.

Following my Coffee Klatch, I returned home to find my husband sitting on the cat house. Earlier in the week the kids had found where Sally, our resident Mama Cat, had been hiding her most recent litter: in the crawl space under the porch. Moving Sally and her 6 fluffy, wide-eyed, wobbly-legged hatchlings was such a treat, but by nightfall, one had wandered off and was nowhere! Well this morning, as Marty was planting garlic and tulip bulbs (yeah, he's that awesome) he thought he heard some mewing from the crawl space.

Turns out, Sally's been pulling double duty, balancing her mothering between the 5 in the cat house and TWO others still in the crawl space! So, what was once 5 little kittens are now 7! And Sally is certainly showing herself to a be a fab mum!

Think that's it? Well, hold onto your overalls! In the mail was a love letter from one of my Bitches, Diane. Having heard about Moira's cleft issue, she sent Moira a little, sparkly schwag and me? An awesome little Buddha with this quote attached:

We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.

-Buddha

Whatever have I done to deserve such outpouring from the universe?! To have a loving husband, healthy kids, Helen in the heavens, and my Bitches still on Earth, plus all this amazing extra schizzle . . . it's too much!

In fact, I've got oodles to share. So to all of you, I send you this Celtic blessing:

May the blessing of the rain be on you--the soft, sweet rain.

May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up, and shed their sweetness on the air.

May the blessing of the great rains be on you, may they beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there many a shining pool where the blue of heaven shines, and sometimes a star.

Much love to you all . . .