Celebration

Today is the 4th of July and some of you may know this, I'm an American. So it's appropriate that today is a day of celebration. However, today I'm celebrating something else. I'm actually not teaching my regular yoga class tonight, which I wouldn't miss for anything, because today is Eleanor's birthday.

Eleanor is turning 60 today and she's having a big party. I'm honoured to have been invited so I've got a sub for my class and I'm off to the party. I don't know how long Eleanor has been coming to yoga classes now, but it's been well over a year and maybe it's 2 years. If you have come to a Tuesday night at Rama Lotus then perhaps you've bumped into Eleanor. When she comes, she's usually with Beth, but she's not always with Beth. She has come to class on her own, on occasion.

Eleanor has Down Syndrome, and is perhaps one of the neatest people I have ever met in my life. She's fun and funky and funny too. Turning 60 is a big accomplishment for anyone, but turning 60 with Down Syndrome is huge. If you see Eleanor, you can hardly believe she's 60. Maybe it's all that yoga she does, but I think it's her youthful nature. And she doesn't resist turning 60 like most of us would/do. I heard that she's been so excited for over 18 months about being 60 that she actually wanted to cancel being 59 so she could go straight to 60.

I saw her just over a week ago and she was wearing a button that said, "I'm 60!" And I said to her, "you're not 60 yet - your birthday isn't for another week or two." Beth told me she's so excited she's been wearing that button for 3 months.

Wow. Such excitement. I'm thrilled for her! I'm thrilled for me! Just being around someone who has such zest for life is a thrill. So unusual.