Oops

I just saw an update on Facebook from Queen Elizabeth's Fan Club that today is her 87th birthday. I will admit to you right now, without hesitation, that I had completely forgotten this.

I knew this was her birthday, deep down. This morning I even thought about this date (April 21st) and thought...something important happened today...but what? I'd been thinking about it for awhile even and wondering what the blog should do in honor of the day. The fact that I then forgot about it is testament to...my busy life? How bad of a blogger I am? The fact that I should give up this project that sometimes seems like such a chore?

I just collapsed into an afternoon nap with a heavy sense of failure. I wish my life weren't so hectic. I wish I had time for all of the things I want to do and that not so much of my day was devoted to picking Cheerios up off the floor and convincing little ones to go to sleep at night, to not wake up at quarter til 5 in the morning. I also wished this past week hadn't been filled with such terrible distractions: the bombing of the Boston marathon; the industrial explosion in the small town of West, Texas; the violent manhunt in Greater Boston; and the anniversaries of American tragedies like the Oklahoma City bombing. We also celebrated Nicholas's first birthday but not without remembering how scary it was for him to be born at 34 weeks last year and to then spend three long weeks in the NICU before he could come home. This has been such a surreal week.

In 1992, after the very public collapse of Prince Charles's marriage to Princess Diana and after a fire destroyed much of her beloved Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth spoke candidly to the English people (or as candid as you can be when speaking in Latin):

"1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an Annus horribilis."

For Queen Elizabeth, this is about as personal as a public speech has ever gotten. She admitted not only personal sadness but also personal humilitation. She showed herself to be human. This sentiment can sum up this past week so well too. It's not one on which my country can possibly look back with undiluted pleasure. It's just been a horrible week.

On this day, her official birthday (in England her birthday will be celebrated later in June when the weather is better, and I can relate to that too!) let's hope the Queen can look back on the past year as an Annus mirabilis. Let's hope the same for the year ahead.

God save the Queen. (And God help me get through the rest of this busy day).