{"id":760,"date":"2011-10-02T15:56:40","date_gmt":"2011-10-02T19:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.katrinakenison.com\/?p=760"},"modified":"2011-10-02T15:56:40","modified_gmt":"2011-10-02T19:56:40","slug":"a-birthday-for-me-a-gift-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/a-birthday-for-me-a-gift-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"A birthday for me, a gift for you"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve already received exactly what I asked for for my birthday tomorrow. I gave my sons Henry and Jack plenty of advance warning and then I was quite clear about my wishes: Handwritten letters, please. Not e-mails. Not hastily signed store-bought cards. Not presents. Just letters, from each of them to me.<\/p>\n

Somewhat to my surprise, they both came through as requested — early, in fact. There are two sealed, handwritten envelopes sitting on the kitchen table at our house, and I can\u2019t wait to open them.<\/p>\n

But there are many other gifts, invisible ones, that I find myself thinking about today. The gift of friendship, offered me daily in so many guises and gratefully received. The gift of good health, easily taken for granted until it\u2019s taken away. The gift of mindfulness, always elusive for me, yet always worth cultivating. The gift of gratitude, a choice I can make right now. The gift of the present moment, renewed over and over again without ceasing. The gift of breath — where would I be without it? The gift of marriage, constantly transforming and evolving, challenging me to become my best self. The gift of motherhood, which has shaped and sculpted every response I\u2019ve had to life for the last twenty-one years. The gift of beauty, worth organizing a life around. The gift of memory, filling in all the empty spaces left by loved ones no longer here. The gift of presence, and the realization that there are so many ways to be present if I am really and truly willing to stay with what is. The gift of imagination, ready to take flight at a moment\u2019s notice. The gift of dreams, expecially the ones worth sacrificing for. The gift of silence — expansive, rich, and deep. The gift of touch, love made manifest. The gift of spirit, infusing all creation. The gift of wonder, mine whenever I take time to attune myself to mystery. The gift of kindness, may I offer it generously and accept it with grace. The gift of joy, that most precious and precarious of blessings. The gift of sadness, the measure of darkness that lends meaning to all happiness. The gift of connection, which I experience with every word and thought and good wish shared in this space.<\/p>\n

To celebrate my birthday, I would like to offer you<\/strong> a gift — an opportunity to receive the audio version of my book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day<\/a>, along with a copy of my favorite collection of poems by my very favorite poet, Evidence by Mary Oliver.<\/a><\/p>\n

I have been reading and re-reading my own cherished copy of Evidence<\/a> all morning, marveling as always at Oliver\u2019s wisdom, generosity, and grace. How pleased I am to share these poems with you, each one a heartfelt hymn of gratitude.<\/p>\n

Here is just a taste, a short poem that speaks directly to me today, as I contemplate my own dreams and aspirations here at the beginning of my fifty-third year.<\/p>\n

I Want to Write Something So Simply
\n<\/strong>
\nI want to write something
\nso simply
\nabout love
\nor about pain
\nthat even
\nas you are reading
\nyou feel it
\nand though it be my story
\nit will be common,
\nthough it be singular
\nit will be known to you
\nso that by the end
\nyou will think —
\nno you will realize —
\nthat it was all the while
\nyourself arranging the words,
\nthat it was all the time
\nwords that you yourself,
\nout of your own heart,
\nhad been saying.
\n—Mary Oliver<\/em><\/p>\n

To be eligible for one of two copies<\/strong> of Mary Oliver\u2019s Evidence<\/a>, along with an audio recording of The Gift of an Ordinary Day<\/a>, leave a comment below. Tell me about a cherished gift in your life. Or, if you wish, just say hello. Your presence here is a gift to me, and I am deeply grateful!<\/p>\n

I will draw two names at random after midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 11, using the tool at www.random.org. Winners will be notified by e-mail.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve already received exactly what I asked for for my birthday tomorrow. I gave my sons Henry and Jack plenty of advance warning and then I was quite clear about my wishes: Handwritten letters, please. Not e-mails. Not hastily signed store-bought cards. Not presents. Just letters, from each of them to me. Somewhat to my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,30,14,48,49,15],"tags":[86,170,198,285,422],"class_list":{"0":"post-760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"category-gratitude","9":"category-soul-work","10":"category-the-gift-of-an-ordinary-day","11":"category-writing","12":"category-writing-and-reading","13":"tag-birthday-gifts","14":"tag-evidence","15":"tag-gratitude-2","16":"tag-mary-oliver","17":"tag-the-gift-of-an-ordinary-day-2","18":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/600x600.png?fit=600%2C600","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/katrinakenison.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}