Today is my birthday...

and it's usually a time that I reflect on how blessed and fortunate I am. I usually start with thinking about the fact that I am single, white, western woman who has the independence and as a consequence financial wherewithal to please myself (up to a point), there are many of my sisters who don't and suffer badly for that lack of independence and finances.

Then I think about myself in relation to other people in my life and why they are here with me, family tend to be a given but I choose to be with them and keep in touch with them and I do so for many reasons but number one is because I love them. Then there are my friends, who really are the family you would choose for yourself if you didn't already have a family that you are deeply connected with. I have friendships that I have made long ago and that are still going pretty strong and made ever so much easier with technology, because let's face it without Facebook or other social networking options we would be limited in how many phone calls or texts one would make.

I have new friendships that are proving to be wonderful, fulfilling and interesting and have exposed me to new opportunities and experiences. I have friendships that have been challenging the way I think about things and made me be more accountable for my actions and thoughts. Then there are my colleagues who wherever I may be make my days at work fun and enjoyable and make up a bit of a motley family unit too. Where I am at the moment, we have experienced many sadnesses together and celebrated the highs together, we pull together and work really well. I would have been lost without their support in the last 18 months and they made things so much easier than they may have been otherwise.

All in all I am a very blessed and fortunate person to have many wonderful special people in my life