twenty-three

this year was the first birthday i've experienced without that "i need attention" pressure. it was the first birthday where i was actually called "a baby" (by co-workers, instead of classmates who've always been younger than me). i ate orange cupcakes with bat sprinkles with my preschoolers, and my co-teacher brought me a balloon. the guy at the chick-fil-a window saw my balloon and wished me a happy birthday. when i scanned my card at the Y, my birthdate must have popped up and the staff said happy birthday. then i worked it out at zumba. i talked to two of my best friends on the phone, people who i really needed to hear from and catch up with. my mom made one of my favorite dinners, complete with funfetti cake, and we watched dancing with the stars. low-key yet satisfying.



(and with the promise of chapel hill this weekend, what could be better?)

it's exciting to think that i might finally be past that point where i need extravagant gifts and gobs of attention and a blowout party complete with a pony and a moonbounce and a three-layer cake to feel good on my birthday. don't get me wrong, i don't think i'll ever grow out of the need for people to acknowledge my birthday. but when they do even that, with a simple card or even just a smile, it is more than enough.

birthdays seem to be the easiest days to get down on yourself, to think about how another year has gone by, to remember the things that you haven't yet done or the pieces that haven't quite fallen into place. and when i was groggily rubbing my eyes in the shower at 7:15 that morning, some of those thoughts passed through my mind. only for a second. i chose instead to worship God for the twenty-three years of blessings He's given me and for the the promise of the remaining years He's ordained. it's fun to imagine where the next twenty-three will take me...

...that's to be continued