Today I am 25. It seems like all the time in the world and no time at all has passed since my last birthday post. There I warned of my birthday nostalgia often resulting in tears and self-pity as a result of not being able to stop the world and slow down my life. When I was nine, the thought of never being a single-digit again was almost more than I could handle.
So, how does 25 feel? Remarkably right. I mean, it sort of snuck up on me with all of the wedding hoopla and travel that's been going on, but it seems apropros, I feel very 25, whatever that means.
Reading my friend Paige's birthday blog from last week made me think of birthday traditions of my own. Aside from the aforementioned breakdowns, birthdays have always been a time of reflection over the past year and of course, an excuse to indulge in buying and feeding myself things I probably shouldn't. For the past two years, D. has taken my picture. Not just a quick snapshot at a party, but a real picture. I started doing the same for him last year. I like this plan because even though it's my birthday, on the outside, it's a pretty normal day and when I look back on the pictures I can see who I was at 23...24. It's not really a big capital T tradition, being just a few years old, but I look forward to making it one.
As I imagined when writing last year's post, this has been a huge year for me. So much to look forward to, so much love surrounding us, it really blew me away.
A few highlights....
Neighborhood dinners - may they continue forever. What could be better than a random Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday with food on the grill (or stove) and anywhere from six to eighteen friends gathered sharing drinks and laughing all night? Doing it about once a week. Always my favorite day of the week.
Thanksgiving in Duck, NC. Beach walks, jumping, slow roasted sticky chicken.
Christmas in Pasco followed by fake Christmas on New Years in Denver. We saw Avatar twice in this span of days and I will not disclose the number of times since then.
Quitting grad school - some might not consider this a 'highlight,' I consider it another step in figuring out what I want to do. Arts management does not seem to be a part of that.
Getting a real fancy pants office, where I can see the top of the treasury building if I lean to the side of my floor to ceiling window.
Amy emails.
Multiple planning trips to Denver where we always seemed to spend more time having fun than doing any real planning.
Multiple road trips to North Carolina where I always seemed to spend more time sleeping than listening to our book on tape.
Dancing until dawn in NY for my bachelorette weekend, then having milkshakes at the same diner that served us breakfast several hours earlier.
Our Fourth of July get-away weekend to Lewes, DE - Jellyfish and all.
AND the creme-de-la-creme: spending a week with the loves of my life, laughing at Uncle Pie, air-born blackberries, unexpected monsoons, turtle dance moves and tie-dyed shoes (along with a litany of other inside jokes) Saying 'I do' in front of the world and celebrating the occasion with a party literally out of my dreams before leaving to explore new places and revisit old favorites with my now husband.
So, can 25 get any better than this?
I think we're just getting started.
