At the Human Body Project events (January 5, 2007, and March 25, 2006, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) participants were invited to make use of writing materials. These pieces below are all of the participant writing from those nights. Typos and spelling errors have been left intact.
For more writing by Tasha Diamant, creator of Human Body Project, as well as for writing by commentators, visit the HBP Blog.
Human Body Project, January 5, 2007, Lethbridge
I feel like we are in a new religion in this place and I get really excited about that.
It’s totally different in January than in March.
It’s just different this time.
There are far less people. At least 15 minutes into it.
It’s so casual. Last time it was this overwhelming, intense, emotional experience. This time it’s as if Tasha walking around naked is as normal as the wind blowing in Lethbridge. All the hype is gone. At least for me.
(These pens are awful, honey)
Who are these participants+why do they want to see a naked woman. A pregnant naked woman?
A P.N.W. seems far more palatable+less controversial than a plain old N.W. There’s something different about it this time.
Last time it was a big shocker. Have we all b.t.d.t. (been there done that?)
My theory behind why there are only 11 people (including 2 reporters—excluding volunteers) is this cold+windy, miserable Friday night. Because we just came off New Year’s. We’re not ready to hit the gym yet, not ready to face our resolutions, not quite ready to resolve. We’re still in party mode. And this is serious. This is deep. This is humanity, mortality staring us in the face AGAIN, forcing us to own up to our human condition. And does this great lesson get tossed aside in the 2nd HBP?
So I’m interested in the viewers. I wonder why they are here—and why they aren’t. For those here, what is their connection to art? Is that what it is or is it curiousity? Is it because of the woman or the naked or the pregnancy or all?
The mall was full tonight. The mall doesn’t make me think. The mall with its temptations+people doesn’t make me fear what I see in a naked, pregnant woman.
The few people here tonight makes me think that everyone is somewhere else, that maybe something other is going on, that should I be somewhere else? I wonder how Tasha feels about this?
This season, part gluttonous, self-focused party season, we aren’t there yet. Maybe that’s why. Or the lesson has worn out?
Why does she do it? Why are they here+why does she do it? Is this woman an exhibitionist of some kind?
What does she get out of it? This is a new religion!!!
I feel like we are in a new religion in this place and I get really excited about that.
Though I know that’s not her intention. The first HBP experience for me was just that. Spiritual.
So here is the peace. It’s so no big deal. Last time we were uncomfortable. This time I’m so not.
Do you feel different in this place as a pregnant naked person?
For those of us who keep coming back, are we weird? Voyeuristic?
That we are all strengthened by the presence of the other.
Concentric circles. The circle of life. A body within a body. A soul within a soul. Safe. Nurtured. Surrounded by love, by warmth, by a shared humanity. We move in circles. Within a community there are these unique sub-cultures. Our circle of friends. Again: safe. Again: nurtured. Yet still I seem to live within the veils of illusory maja. Constructs to keep some portion safe & warm. Yet painful confines all the same. Growth it seems comes of stretching & ultimately breaking through the constructed veils. Clothes, the standardized status quo speak volumously yet voicelessly in their essence. Stepping outside the norm to encounter the very reality of ourselves. What fears manifest in being exposed, vulnerable, simply oneself as created. Such fears diminish as dew under the noonday sun. Removing the veil is needed thus to see the Self with honest realization. The people here support and nourish. If not you then at least myself. Yet somehow I sense a give & take. That we are all strengthened by the presence of the other. I think of my children. I remember my mother. Such thoughts bring comfort. Again we move in circles. Knowing that what appears unusual is actually quite the opposite. For underneath our many masks are we not all the same to see. What cloth I wear tells many tales of status, of position, of social rank & order. Yet ‘neath it all there lies just me (or thee) frail and strong, scared and sure, a study in dichotomy. The body is its transient self, a vessel for to be, a craft designed to cross life’s waves, now tossed, now firm, now here, then gone. We witness now our many selves conspiring to be-come but one.
Merci, D.
In shedding your clothes, it as though a veil has been lifted from my closed perception of beauty, life and energy.
This is a station of assumed uncomfortability. The perception of a human body displayed apart from nature may confirm this assumption. However, it is the vulnerability that occupies the beholders eye. The sense of powerlessness pervades yet only to one with ill conceived notions of what is beautiful in nakedness. For it is, beyond commercialized societies concept of real beauty, ultimately this body or a body with human soul and life confronting us that demands our admiration and love.
Other thoughts that come to mind…
Tasha,
You speak of having a comfort this time around. I was not here before, and had hesitation of coming to see you so bold.
But this is an atmosphere that tests my mind, and challenges my beliefs. Through the drabness of work-a-day life I feel open to express a thought or opinion.
In shedding your clothes, it as though a veil has been lifted from my closed perception of beauty, life and energy.
Kamal.
Are there rules for this kind of situation?
So here you sit, pregnant and naked, as I, thankfully, am not. Are there rules for this kind of situation? What are they? Who makes them? If I were to speak to you, what would I say? Something neutral and politely Canadian—“Windy, today, eh?” or something more personal—“Do you realize you are sitting naked in a room full of strangers?” Is there anything I could say ton you that did not sound idiotic and contrived?
Do we make eye contact? I imagine it makes both if us less nervous—some kind of connection is formed through this invisible wall between us. No one approaches too closely; I know I would be too afraid to.
I think of my own pregnancies—another connection as I remember back. Is there any one of us who does not want a better world for our children? I am struck by the quiet in the room—the shy smiles people aim your way, reassuring you. We are aware that we are not only looking at you, but at another. Your vulnerability as a human being is intensified by being a pregnant human being. You made the choice to stand naked in a room full of strangers. I made the choice to come see you stand naked in a room full of strangers. I hope you are richer for the experience. I know I am. Thank you and good luck to you and your babe.
Babies in the room
Tasha,
I don't know if it was my own physical weakness (as i was still in
recovery mode from my dq adventures!) but I really agreed with what you
were saying on Friday about the event having a feeling of peace. When I
was sitting in there watching you and the participants, I felt the urge to
curl up and go to sleep. The situation didn't feel awkward or tense with
emotion as did the first event. I think this new feeling had a lot to do
with the babies in the room. The fact that you are pregnant had another
effect that I hadn't anticipated—I could not relate to your body as I
had in the first event. It was very alien and strange for me to see you
there with another being buried inside you... much more real than the
almost cartoony "basketball belly" I'm used to seeing underneath
stretched-out t-shirts. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know my initial
impressions...I haven't had time to fully work it out yet. Good luck in
Calgary; enjoy it.
Grounded. Yes.
I guess being behind the camera lets me be a little disjointed from everything. Last year I found that I may not have experienced + really dealt w/all the feelings that came up for me. I’ve had a really happy yet shakey time lately. Lots of changes (for the positive this time) + it’s nice to hear you say you’re grounded like a tree. I want that + I know it will come. Grounded. Yes.
Yes
Hands
While filming I was watching your hands. To me, a person’s hands or posture can provide a lot of information as to how they are feeling. Your hands tonight are calm and relaxed for the most part… sometimes on your belly, and sometimes doing that crazy circle thing you do when your nervous. I’m glad you’re feeling calm and grounded, and look forward to hearing what you have to say after tonight is finished. I could say more but your talking so I’ll listen instead.
Love you,
Jena
THE MOTION THAT TIPS THE SCALES
AS I RECONNECT WITH YOU HERE I AM
STRUCK AT THE “YOUNESS” OF THE MOMENT
AND SURPRIZE AT MY MINDS REPITITION
OF A DARK VEIL. HOW SACRED THE BODY
HOW SACRED THE HOUSE OF THE SOUL. HOW
CLEAN. THE VEIL? WHY? NOT MEAN
SPIRITED, NOT OUT OF DISRESPECT TO
ANOTHER BELIEF. IT DRAWS A LINE ABOUT
BELIEF ABOUT HOW DIFFERENTLY MY UNDERSTANDING
OF SHOWING RESPECT FOR WHAT IS SACRED.
I THINK OF YOUR DAUGHTER, YOUR HUSBAND
THE TENDER LOOK I SEE ON HIS FACE
AFTER JUST TAKING YOUR PHOTOGRAPH.
INEXPRESSABLY, I THINK WHAT A COURAGEOUS
MOTHER YOUR UNBORN CHILD HAS. I WONDER IF
THEY HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON
I SMILE. I MUSE. A TEAR COMES TO MY EYE.
THOSE OF US FINDING WAYS TO CHANGE THE
WORLD, TO NURTURE GROWTH, REPLACE DESPAIR
WITH HOPE IN THE FACE OF OVERWHELMING ODDS.
ACTION OR INACTION NO ACTION, CONTEXT, MOMENT
KNOWING WHICH AT WHICH MOMENT CREATES
THE MOTION THAT TIPS THE SCALES.
I PUSH BACK MY TEARS.
WE ARE THE ART
THE MODEL IS NOT THE MODEL IS
THE ARTIST IS NOT OBJECTIFIED
WE ARE THE MEDIA WE ARE
THE ARTIST WE ARE THE ART
JH
I FIND MYSELF MUSING ABOUT HOW
PROLIFIC JOSEPH IS… MY EYES
WANDER THROUGHOUT THE ROOM
AND BACK TO YOUR PEACEFULL SMILE
I WATCH MYSELF IN THE WORK
I WATCH MY HANDS
I SEE THE WEAVE IN MY SKIRT
THE TAN COLOURS OF MY CLOTHES
BLEND INTO THE FLOOR.
THEY FAID.
THE FAN MAKES SO MUCH NOISE
THE BELLY RUBBING HUGGY STUFF
BEGINS.
THERE IS A LINE UP TO
TOUCH TASHA’S BELLY.
TEE HEE HE HEE.
THEIR CHEEKS ARE RED.
JH
As vulnerable as the new little one inside
quietly elegant
though superbly simple
a classical timelessness is present
the shadow of curiousity
the joy of expectancy
I found the event complex, enlightening and joyful.
Tasha seemed to me as vulnerable as the new little one inside her.
Soothing peace
Tasha,
At first the energy in the room seemed heavy & unable to move.
I tried to connect with the small number of people who were there—“the mister” reality is what kept more from coming (you know—ego stuff). However, I did get that the publicity would do its job for you.
As soon as I moved to the other side of the room, the energy shifted—your energy became light as did the energy in the room but only for a few minutes.
What you are doing is important—it makes me reflect on my own purpose—how hard it is at times to know more… and how difficult a job it is to move others forward. I sense your strength and your emotion was clear. You seemed at peace with whatever people were to get out of the experience.
I felt the atmosphere in the room very different than the last time—in fact I started writing this sentence at the same time you started speaking.
We are increasing the frequency of our vibration today thanks to you! Don’t know quite what that means yet but it has to do with the soothing peace that is so obvious in the room.
Well done! I am basking in the wonderful energy—we are on a “high note” that just keeps us at that high vibrational energy.
Thanks!
Love, Betty.
Human Body Project, March 25, 2006, Lethbridge.
another interaction with a machine,
its like this is all I do lately,
imagine being asked to actually stop and look and think,
just lights flashing in front of a glowing screen,
the piano is playing, the questions are being asked,
we see a person, she walks, she talks,
the girl plays, the skin is touched,
somewhare in ourselves we all know somethig we didn't know on the other side of the door
the tempo rises, the crest is coming,
she crys,
we cant be this way forever,
we haven't been shown how.
by C. T. H.
I’m crying. Here’s such a brave woman who I don’t know, with a room full of self-conscious people hesitating to move. Just staring at her naked body or turning away. I feel overwhelmed by her sacred body. I feel honored + privileged to be in her presence. I have never met anyone so brave. I’m surprised the lights are so bright. I imagined this would be a dimly lit room. I don’t know if I would ever have the courage to do what she is doing.
I think she is crying but I am not sure. I am.
After reading the artists statement online, I cried. Documenting her body every year until she dies is amazing and sad, almost. And yet what a beautiful legacy. Though this is also about her mortality and all of our mortality. This is a way of self-preservation. A way of prolonging life by documenting it. I want to wrap my arms around her + want this room to be filled with love. What an emotional experience. (You said your body has not been touched by plastic surgery—don’t let it be, you are beautiful).C.
I’m going to cry again. I have to write more. This feels so serious. Sometimes I think it feels like we are at a funeral. And yet this is a celebration of life. Life every year until death. And I wish there was no such thing as death. I don’t want to die, don’t want anyone to die. I feel that I have to cry, I can’t hold back. I would play piano, but there is music on. This is the most intimate art exhibition I have ever been to.
I wasn’t expecting this surge of tears to pour. Now there is laughter—the first time tonight—to break the silence.
I keep wondering about the silence—wanting to fill it, so that I can reassure her.
Yes, you’re right, this is a birth, not about death, but this is like witnessing a birth.
I hope that you feel no judgment. There is no judgment here, I’m sure. I’m glad you’re talking. I need to hear your voice.
I think of the Garden of Eden and how it was a story or a legend about nakedness tied to “sin” and the moral of that story is that “that’s why we all cover up now + feel shame or are supposed to feel shame.
wow, this is amazing. To see a human being completely open with herself and with others. Thank you for sharing your body with us in a completely safe and non sexual environment. There is so much emphasis on sex in my life, without any understanding of the human body as a vessel, rather than a sexual tool only. I feel like screaming to the world somedays how I feel, yet I keep it to myself b/c of the brick wall I am trying to explain myself to, why the fuck do people see women as sex objects, why the fuck am I invaluable if I don't fulfill his fantasies, or needs as it is put......Thank you for just simply being.....
wretched skin
hateful body
wonderful body
beautiful body
sadness
hate
love
beautiful sadness
moving sadness
pain
love joy
clawing at my soul
clawing at my arm
ripping moving
love
fear
exposed
at one
peace
love
connection
open
beauty
creation
does it take all this to see the end? the demise?
free
multitudes of layers of...
I think that you are very brave for putting yourself in front of so many people and eyes. In our culture women are looked upon as sex objects and it is quite strange to look at someone's naked body without the pretenses of media and glamourization.
I am looking at your face and wish that I could understand what must be going through your head. I know of people who display themselves because they are searching for attention and approval from those around them. Seeing you is very unlike that, it is honest and stripped of commercialization and sexualization. It is about allowing yourself to view a bare body, devoid of illusions.Surely it must be an odd thing that in 2006 a naked body still causes such a stir. We are still so fascinated, curious, fearful, ashamed and wondrous. Police representation is here because someone complained. About what? It's a naked body??????? How could a woman standing naked, feeling vulnerable, be a threat? To whom is she causing harm? What is the fear?
Elaine
Sorry I couldn't hold it together enough to speak for very long out loud...the biggest thing I felt tonight was pride....and guilt. For some reason I felt guilty standing in front of you, open, honest, vulnerable. I felt guilty for being clothed and hidden, afraid of the openness you were willing to share. I feel guilty for not being in your shoes, well lack of shoes.
You said that you never had a role model, and I am guilty that I am glad that you didn't. I think if you had, your direction and view would have been skewed and you wouldn't have shared this moment with me.
See you next year.
With love,
Heather
•Peace•Love•Freedom•Courage•Nakedness•Quivers•Smile•Shine•Pride•Humility• Acceptance•Choice•Time•Tears•Support•Embrace•Friendship•Silver•Laughter•Tears•A Racing Heart•A real woman•Space•Patience•Visibility•Beauty•Light•Goodness• •Purity•Music•Sweet•Skin•Control•Anxiety•Overwhelming•Embrace•Life•Vulnerable•Labels•Exposed•
Tasha
I am completely OVERCOME with emotion!
Your bravery—courage—willingness to truly expose yourself…it leaves me realizing so many things about myself…and my many sisters in this crazy RIDE we call life
I am a woman—31 years old—who has spent EVERY DAY hiding
Behind labels, clothes, expectations and truly ridiculous beliefs.
Spending yourMY days trying to cover who I am…
But today I see you. A stranger for all purposes—being YOU in the most RAW and real sense.
You have nothing to hide behind. I cry for your courage, bravery and incredible Strength!
Thank you for encouraging me to peel off just a handful of these painfully safe layers. They really do not serve me as I like to BELIEVE they do.
Starkness of form
is intwine with the viens, skin, the hair
How confuse we are to think this is life?
Life is the essence of beauty within
I look, I do not see the form
I see the formlessness
The purity
THe essence
Beingness
Lisa Lewis- thank you Tasha
For allowing me to see what is beyond
what a beautiful reminder
of all that IS
Wow. What a very brave and womanly thing to do. Very beautiful and spiritual. Emotionally provacative. I did not expect to be emotionally moved but felt a connection to you the minute I walked into the room.
to see a portrait of a nude body is a vast difference to seeing someone in real life. Even more so in silence, speaking volumes such as vulnerability, fear, freedom, self expression, liberation, and the more you are still the more your mind wanders and is receptive to a whole new realm of life and takes you out of the box we live in daily. I applaud you expressive and free nature and well being.
Braving elements of inequality
Voice
Balance
Rejoice in your experience
You are my heroine!
Power
Courage
Love who you are
Take of masks of perceptions + experience the nakedness revealed.
Truth
Freedom
Laugh with love
Be free
Beauty
Sacred
Blossom
Unconditional Love
Perceptions Explored
Cry with joy
--Sarah Jane Christensen Schmidt
Tears of joy for you
As if at a daughter’s wedding
Knowing that forever from today
Your life will be changed
You & I will be different
Once opened
the mind
can never shrink
back to the way it was before
Thank you
Aging of the body is fascinating in a way—the looser skin, the pull of gravity, the lines, the graying and thinning of hair. In a certain way there’s a beauty to it all. It’s not the beauty of youth, or taut and rosy skin. It’s the beauty of confidence, of risk, of something fine but worn.
Aging of the mind, of the spirit, is so different. There is no beauty or fascination to be found when one grows old in this way—simply an insidious slow crawl towards death.
Human Body Project 44 is, thankfully, a beautiful aging of the body.
One time I saw this spray painted on a mailbox:
LOVE
THY
SELF
I thought it was really funny. Positive graffiti makes me smile.
Here I am, having mounted several obstacles to attend. I do not fare well amongst strangers, rather, I previously had anxiety around those I don’t know. Part of my “fear” was the oh-so obvious physical disfiguration over the last few years, more noticeable to me I’m sure.
I convinced myself that I would model you, summon a fraction of the strength you own. I am here, and thankful to you for your support.
Maybe you are something?
Maybe you are nothing?
But no mater of what you are, you are beauthiful
Everything in you is amaizing
I see the silens with light
I feel the universal love
In your smile and your mind.
I want to tell you are
and everyone feel tonight
that you are a woman
who is gave too much, too much
to the world.
Thank you to try to show
to the world that we are
all the same.
Be strong, be good
Be creative like you tonight!
You know? You should be know
that there is a people who
love you!
There is nothing better
than—never be afraid!
Elena
Tasha,
My first thought was of mother—the mother of all creation—brings tears to my eyes—but good ones—given the perfection of your timing.
The strength that is rising in us is, of course, female energy is the death of the ego in the birth of us—changing reality.
I am so glad that so many people showed up. the warmth of love in the room again brings tears to my eyes—again good ones.
You are truly an inspiration—a gift to us all to get in touch with our reality through you.
The absence of shame touches me as we all know that underneath we are all love.
I hope you feel supported today as that is the energy that surrounds you. In this love you will be grounded into “form” shaping the new reality.
Conquests will be handled here. The meaning is that maybe you are troubled but reach to your soul to come clean, refresh the world with your presence.
Multidimensional beings we are graced with that presence within this room.
You are gracious to give us this opportunity to “SEE” you as we see ourselves within your dimensions.
Come closer—bring us all there is to see—come into structural perfection so that we may enhance our reality with guidance from grace.
As more people enter the room—I see that the power becomes you—1/2 hour gone now—seems like only minutes.
You are such a great expression of the female body—feminine but strong.
Misshapen we all think we are—but in reality we are free. Come bind us all together + see us all as “He” sees me.
Court the truth—no longer are we bound in the silence of our thoughts—we are free. thankfully + graciously do we deserve to unbind ourselves from death’s door.
I am so happy for you—slave no more. Thank you for the honor of being here with you this evening.
When I heard the word jealous—I was uncomfortable for a moment—having yourself, the beginning of creation—knowing yourself the beginning of creation—marvelling at the process—exquisite.
When you said—“it’s weird to be seen—but it’s good”—is something I experience every day—both with myself and my clients—even though they are afraid to be found vulnerable—they also feel that their “secrets” are out.
Thank You Tasha
Love
Betty
So where do we all come together
strangers and needers & wanderers
descriptions to cliché for worth.
Endearing smiles and stolen caress.
Public emotion
No longer sexualized
a speaker talks about freedom
we are all not in the same world
tasha looked at me and smiled
tears and shivers
watching us watching her.
maybe it all makes sense
maybe none of it does.
questioning surrounds
My cousin is drawing…
I haven’t seen her in over 14 years.
to talk, to get to know each other.
At least someone feels “lots of things”
much better than being blank.
If nudity is a blank slate than we
don’t understand. It must be everything.
Anyway I smile.
So move over and let someone else talk
So I do.
-What is it to be naked?
-To be without cover?
-To be honest?
-Real?
Isn’t it funny that no matter how many 43$ shirts we wear when it comes down to it we are always naked. We can’t escape it. It is who we are. When we stop denying who we are with false armour, perhaps then we will be able to see. To see another and to allow them to see us.
No Guise.
No Armour.
No lies.
Honesty
Trust
Beauty
We cannot improve on what is already perfect. We just need, I think, to realize what perfection means. To stop distorting its meaning to be, more than anything else, ugly.
So, I’m not sure what to think.
I suppose I figured you Tasha wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
Not sure why…
Maybe you don’t, it’s funny.
How our society finds it so hard to accept “nudity” in a non-sexual way.
That’s what we come into the world with, our nude bodies. Our brains that really haven’t developed to be socialized. I think that anything in life that challenges you is a good thing. I am not actually sure I understand why this is an art form. I don’t mean this in an offensive way. More just that we have constructed a world or society that a woman standing nude is different. I don’t know you at all Tasha… all I know is your physical features, well not in detail but I can look and see. I don’t know if you have spent half your life travelling to nudest colonies, or if you are a nudest activist. I don’t know if perhaps you have struggled in you life within yourself. Really I know nothing at all about you. You reasoning for this. I love to be naked, I love it so much, but I find it still hard at time, so I’m not sure how it would be in a room full of loved ones and stranger. Its probably pretty liberating. Life is great…
I repect purity, honesty, and truth…
Its another dimension on life I guess
I think of all the times in my life where I have been naked in front of a partner and immediately put my hands and arms over my body, in front of my body to cover it up. Even after 17 yrs of marriage I feel intimidated and ashamed by my nakedness and my lack of beauty. Sagging breasts, stretch marks, excess weight, its all there. It plays in my mind everyday. I only wish I could do what you have done here tonight!! I admire you so much! Thank you, Tasha.
Taunya Mark.
Tasha,
You are an absolutely beautiful being; your soul fills this room this evening and those within.
I want you to know however, that the “truth” and love you share with us tonight is shared each and every day that you interact with us.
Please know that YOU ARE A PRECIOUS PRECIOUS “GIFT”; you are a CHILD OF GOD and you have a spirit that is much needed in this time.
Each of us here have been touched by your soul and will continue to grow & benefit because of our experiences and interactions with you whether they are for a brief moment in time or a life long relationship.
Keep shining YOUR TRUTH!!
I believe you are very beautiful and brave. As I watch you I can feel your nervousness and I feel nervous for you. The energy in the room is a strange mix of intrigue and fascination. I wonder what motivated you to endeavor in this project and what you are feeling at this moment. I admire how you make an attempt to make eye contact with everyone in the room. Almost as though you want to help everyone feel at ease. There is a groundedness in the shape of your body. and a lightness of spirit that I think is captured quite well by the fact that you are free of clothing and adornments. Things that usually make an outward statement about who we are. Without them we seem vulnerable but we are truly powerfull, as when we were children, unafraid and unashamed. I admire your courage and your sense of freedom.
Lou/Lori? (name difficult to decipher)
You know, after having videotaped the reaction of others for a half hour, it seems almost as though I should have been used to the atmosphere by the time my shift ended… but that didn’t happen. Its one thing to look at someone who is in such a vulnerable state through the (comforting) lense of the camera, but its another to let my own eyes, my own heart, digest what is going on. But really is it something you can really “digest” and come to terms with in five minutes (five months or five years?)
- Jena Ursel
Tasha,
You are the most courageous woman I know!
I’m very happy and proud of you for making your project more than just a thought. You’ve realized something most of us would never even think of and in doing so, alternate the lives of those who are in this room. Our lives collide for an hour or so while you expose the naked truth about the world we live in.
Maybe it will only be for a night, a month or perhaps a lifetime but your message has been heard—without a word.
Congratulations—you have left the level of ordinary and enterd “extraordinary”!
Love ya!
Melanie