30th Birthday Recap!

I am not one of those people who dread turning another year older. In fact, I kinda love it. I feel that every year that I get older is another year past where I earned another little stripe on this badge of life. I like getting older. I like being able to say, "When I was 21...." I like the realization that I know more now as an adult than I did 10 years ago when, incidentally, I was ALSO an adult.

On December 21st, I turned 30 and I got to do so surrounded by some of my favorite people in California! J took me on a surprise whirlwind trip to California so that I could spend my big day with my cousins. He's a good man, that one!

Our quick trip involved champagne by the Golden Gate

Appetizers and cocktails at Water Bar with a view of the Oakland Bridge

Dinner to celebrate J's birthday (the day before mine) at the Brixton in San Francisco

Each thing we did was a surprise...when we got up on Saturday, we left to pick up my cousin and got in the car for a few hours to my next and biggest surprise: going to see my beautiful cousin J and her family! I don't often get to see them and spend time with them when we visit, so it was a great surprise! We spent my birthday night doing what I love: eating yummy dinner, laughing, catching up and enjoying some wine. It was perfect!

I even got a birthday tiara!!

It was awesome! Everything was so wonderfully thought out and planned by everyone. From places to eat, to places to stay to my favorite birthday dessert (chocolate mousse!), it really was a group effort.

30 is looking good, y'all!

"At age 30, one receives strength."

--Talmud

"The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits."

-- Hervey Allen

Comments

Goodbye.

“I don’t know if I should congratulate you or console you.” - Craig “How about both?” - Me This was a conversation in our kitchen earlier this week. After a year and a half of weekly therapy, I had my last session with my therapist Tuesday. Not because I was over it or because it wasn’t working or because he retired. Nope. Because we got to a place where we could both say I’ve got the tools I need to move on. I have to say that there is no timeline for therapy and every situation is unique. I moved on from intensive therapy with my therapist because that it was worked for ME. I am certainly no expert and I have a feeling this isn’t the end of my therapy forever, but I do know that my experience with the right person allowed me to heal in ways I literally never thought possible. And it gave me the experience of a healthy “goodbye”. I was never prepared for that, so when we set an end date (not-so-coincidentally my Nanna’s birthday), it was hard to process. No one talks ab...

November 19th

There's apparently something about November 19th and changes in my life... 2 years ago: moving out of the ex's house 1 year ago: announcing that I was making the big move to beautiful Colorado Today: planning my next big adventure! After 2 years of major life changes and constant adjustment, I'm finally feeling like a settled human being. So, I've decided that 2018 is going to be the year I push myself physically and mentally. 2 half marathons are on the schedule along with the most exciting part: a multi day bike adventure with an assisted athlete here in Colorado in support of The Kyle Pease Foundation !! I've learned enough about myself that I will not agree to push myself hard physically for any length of time unless there is another person who is behind the WHY. Doing this in partnership with another athlete who necessarily wouldn't be able to otherwise, is enough to get my ass off my couch and get it done! Details are still being worke...

Daughter.

When you're estranged from not one, but basically both parents, the heaviness of that can still be palpable. Most days, most weeks, and months even, it's fine. I've learned to navigate questions like, "Where do your parents live?" or the weird feeling in my gut when someone says, "Oh, my mom sent me this from this favorite place of mine." I've learned how to adjust to Mother's and Father's Days by staying off of social media and doing something that makes me happy like getting out into nature. Some of these times are better than others. Here's the thing: whether or not the choice to go no contact with the two people who were supposed to show you all the basis of love was good or not, is incredibly difficult. Because social media is what it is, yesterday was apparently "International Daughters Day". It didn't bother me so much yesterday, but this morning wasn't off to a great start and for some reason, I felt agitated. I ...

A Lovely Life

Looking For Something?