My dear Orien

It's hard to believe Orien is 30 years old. She's been independent and living in San Francisco for years and in college in Santa Cruz before that but still it seems amazing to test the reality that we are our respective ages. We had a wonderful gift exchange tonight with our Riparia family and then had deserts... too rich even in small quantities but an old tradition to have an ice cream cake.

Earlier Olivia came over and gave Orien these bling supreme earrings. Gorgeous young women! Olivia is now a practitioner of acupuncture arts and a real healer. Orien has just a semester of law school left-- a doctor of jurisprudence emerging.

Following our old Riparian ways we did the "bird tree" with our "old" kids including Noah and Kira, home for the holidays, and Addie (16) and Jerry and Kim and their little ones. The "really old kids" in the shot are Leslie, Michael, Sheldon, Emily and Bruce.
It's fun to place seeds inside oranges and place them in the tree but best is just letting lose with handfuls of popcorn.

Before we left Tahoe Orien's friends presented her with a large canvas "card" and we had a moment to pose with Mary Carmen, Ema, Megan, Suman, Isla, Camillo, Sheldon, Cedar and Fiona. Another generation emerges and it is wonderful to see Orien's friends pregnant and with their young families.

I'm very proud of my dear girl. I love her sooooo much!

I wish you well this Christmas. Listening to Christmas music, thinking of my mom who died 5 years ago today...(She died with Joy to the World playing.) Such fullness. Partly too much food but a lot of it just the fullness of feeling such Big Love. Enough for all the world... I wish.