Year 29

I recently celebrated my 29th birthday. This year also happened to be my golden birthday. Turned 29 on March 29th. To mark the occasion my family went out to eat for dinner. There ended up being 18 of us around the table. I felt incredibly loved and special to have so many people who traveled to celebrate with me.

Now, I recently was reminded that when we celebrate a birthday, the age we are turning actually marks the completion of that many years. So having said that, I have been thinking on what I have come to learn in those 29 years.

I know that it doesn’t take much effort to be kind. People go out of their way to be mean and rude to each other these days and it boggles my mind, and hurts my soul. If you just take a breath, and think a moment, being kind to your fellow person makes the whole day much brighter. Spreading just a little positivity can lift spirits and it might come back around to you in ways you never expected.

Laughter has become some of my favorite sounds. I treasure the memories of chatting with my siblings or my friends and everything we said would just make us laugh even more. My parents were never afraid to laugh and have fun with us while growing up. They would sing along with us in the car, be incredibly silly with us, and show us that it doesn’t take much to have a wonderful time. Those moments will forever be something I will hold close to my heart.

Finding small moments of joy or positivity can lift your spirit. When I have those days where it felt like everything was working against me, making a small list, just three things long, of the little happy moments, would change my perspective and show me that it wasn’t as dark or bleak as I had thought. Once in a while I reach for one of my notebooks and find that looking back at the happy moments from previous days helped me see that times where I feel like I can’t get any headway, are really not as horrible as I have been thinking.

I have been learning and growing for 29 years, and I will continue to grow and change as I age. So I am grateful for moments like birthdays that remind us to pause and reflect on how far we truly have come.

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes and the love sent my way. Here is to year 30 and all the incredible moments that are to become wonderful memories.

Fun Filled Weekends

This weekend I have been getting out of the house and having fun with my friends. Yesterday B. and I went out for lunch and then to a garden center that was hosting a thrift sale for the local humane society. I obviously wanted to go and support them, they have given me five incredible animals the past few years, and I am glad I have the means to give them a little help. Today, A. and the kids are picking me up and we are heading to Action City for a morning filled with games, laughter, and memories in the making.

Some weekends I am not up for having big plans. The week was hard enough and I need the weekend to recuperate my energy levels for the following week. This week though, I am very grateful for friends who make plans. I have been enjoying getting out with them lately and I hope my body cooperates, and lets me continue to have lots of fun. (One of the draw backs of having chronic illness.)

My friends have always been a bright light in my life. They get me and are very understanding. B. A. and L. are my three best friends. Sadly L. lives across the country or I am sure we would be hanging out much more. I am also grateful to have lived in the time of easy communication. I am able to reach out to all three with a quick text whenever I need or want to. That text can sit there, in their inbox, as long as it needs to, and they can answer when the get a moment. Two of them are professionals with busy jobs, and the third is an incredibly devoted mom who is always busy as well. So I am glad whenever they get the chance to message me back.

This weekend is the first in a long time, where I get to see more than one friend, in just those two days. My social battery is being given a workout, but I couldn’t be more thankful to have the time with them. Like I mentioned earlier, it is weekends like these that are memories in the making, and I know I will look back at them and smile.

Fun filled weekends are few and far between these days, especially as adults with responsibilities. So when you get the opportunity to spend a little extra time with someone you love and cherish, don’t let it slip away. Let yourself have those fun packed days every once in a while.