i'm 26 years old.
that is the very age that both of my parents were when i was born. i got
to thinking that its kind of cool to be exactly half of their age, and i mentioned
it to them at some point during my birthday week. they thought it was kind
of interesting, too, but then my mom pointed out that its not the only time i'll be
half their age. for instance, when they're 64 i'll be 32. that's not actually true at
all, but it took us all a minute to figure it out. sad, but true. and it gave everyone
a hearty laugh, so i'm glad that the math was wrong.
i began planning for my birthday about 2 months in advance when i booked a
flight to seattle to visit my friend katie stewart. "friend" is a pretty weak description
of what she actually is to me, but i'll explain all of that in another post that will be
strictly dedicated to our recent adventures. the trip was the weekend before my
birthday, and it was a big, big hit. the best start to a birthweek i could've asked for.
or given myself.
the night before my birthday, jenkins took me on a rachel-rachel date to
see the new footloose. it literally took every fiber of my being and ounce of
willpower that i had to keep from dancing in the aisles. especially during this
scene. thanks to a loving heavenly father we got to enjoy kevin bacon in the original,
but i seriously loved this movie and can't wait to own it so i can
learn all of the dance moves in my living room. not all remakes are garbage.
point in case.
i had to work on the actual day. comes with being a grown-up, i guess.
but i did treat myself to a pumpkin pie blizzard from dq on my way to
watching this athletic specimen play some flag football in a work league.
hate to see him go. love to watch him run away.
we went out to the johnson's lovely new abode for a birthday feast after
the game. thanks to pinterest, michaela was inspired to enlist jeremy in helping
her whip up a culinary masterpiece. it was fancy and delicious and i loved it.
we all did. and jenkins even made a pumpkin-flavored dessert that knocked all
of our socks off.
that night richard surprised me with a present, which was a fun surprise
seeing as how seattle was kind of a huge one. he must love me or something.
the day after was a friday, and i got to spend it having a sweet reunion with
some of the best friends i've ever had. i met 3 of them in 6th grade, we picked
up a 5th member in 9th grade, and the rest is history. there will also be a post
dedicated to this hilarious night.
when richard asked what i wanted to do to celebrate my birthday, only one
thing felt right: the drive-in. we got take-out from my favorite ogden eatery
(sitara india) and cuddled the night away in the back of the kia while watching
some cheap flicks, with our buddies only a car away. the johnsons joined us
again, and i'm so glad they did. good food, good friends, good cuddling - that's
all a girl really needs on her birthday.
and family. a girl needs her family, too.
i forgot to mention that my mom and sister chelsa were out of town on my
actual birthday. i knew they would be gone, and that they probably wouldn't
have cell phone service since they were roughin' it, and i was ok with that. or
so i thought. if i hadn't talked to my dad that day i probably wouldn't have lasted
as long as i did, but as i was driving to richard's football game i started thinking
that this would be the first year of my entire life that i didn't talk to my mom on my
birthday, so i tried to call her. it went straight to her voicemail, and i began to leave
her a message. before i knew it i was bawling into the phone, having my first totally
pathetic moment as a 26-year old woman.
a few hours later, after we'd stuffed our gourds with michaela's fabulous dinner, my
phone rang and it was my mom. i ran to the other room so everyone wouldn't have to
witness the tears of relief and happiness when i talked to the woman who lovingly pushed
me out of the birth canal and into the charmed life i now lead those 26 years ago.
just goes to show you that no matter how old, a girl needs her mom.
a week and a half later we wrapped up the birthday festivities by celebrating
with my extended family. the presents were great, and totally appreciated, but
my favorite part of the night was watching this:
birthdays tend to be a time of reflection. about your life up to that point, and
maybe where you go from there. 25 was a good year for me - i resolved my
greatest regret in life (see the upcoming seattle post for details), i crossed some
things off of my bucket list (was part of a flash mob, joined a book club, took a
ballroom dance class with richard, went to hawaii with richard), started a career
that i love in my field of study, and got to visit my favorite place in the world
multiple times (nyc, duh), among other things.
i'm still convinced that age is relative and i can't possibly be this old. i don't feel old.
at least not until i actually think about how many years ago i graduated from high
school, or see how many kids my friends have already. being old is for the birds.
making 26 the best year yet is for m.e.
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