25 Years

Well, yesterday was my birthday and it was a great day! Sometimes birthdays are... emotional. (Not the whole getting older thing- I don't get emotional about that.) It all started on the first day of first grade- August 31, 1992. I walked into my classroom and there on John Trussell's desk was a cake hat for his birthday. He got to wear it all day. My birthday, obviously, is in the summer. I never got to wear the birthday hat. On my 12th birthday, my whole family was out of town--except my dad, who was at work all day. So sometimes birthdays are hard. But yesterday was a great, relaxing day.

My 6 days off of work started on Thursday so that is when my birthday celebration began. Thursday was mostly a day of relaxation after my 3 days of work. I did get up and go for a 4-mile run which was wonderful! I may have also gotten a little pre-birthday happy...

If you guessed that there was a special treat of "Pucker Up" inside, you would be right. Things got weird later that evening. I blame it on expectations, but I decided that I needed to get out of the house. So as soon as Big Brother ended, I packed a bag and drove to my parents. It was perfect! I got to hang out with my parents a little that night and then sleep peacefully! The next morning, my mom was going to go to her classroom to finish setting up and my dad went with her to paint some things so I had the house to myself. I walked downstairs to this:

...a sweet note from my mom and another little happy. Inside was a coffee mug!

a. I LOVE coffee mugs! I love the size of this one and the oversized handle.
b. It says "Trust Your Journey" Seriously, my mom knows me so well! It's a little scary and very reassuring!

After that, I did some pampering

and went to the best happy hour in the country!

Then, I picked my mom up from school and took a power nap before getting ready for dinner. Dinner was perfect. I had no idea who would be coming and so I had zero expectations for how it would go. My cousin picked me up and drove me to Cafe Ole. I had given her some email addresses, but she didn't really know the people so she couldn't tell me who was coming either. I was legit walking into this blind. I had no control over anything and I loved it! I know that is a total surprise to everyone- me included- and I know it is totally a minor thing, but this is a big issue so I have to take baby steps (What About Bob style) to learn the freedom of giving up control. Because I am failing miserably at pretty much all of my new year's resolutions, I took no pictures from dinner last night. Oops! But it was a great night with sweet friends that I am so blessed are in my life!

So now for the reflection of the last 25 years of life: things are not anything like I would have imagined. If someone had asked me 5 years ago where I thought my life would be at 25 I would have guessed married, possibly with a child. Yeah, so clearly that's not happening! And I know that it's all for the best. In 25 years, I have learned that God's plan is always better and way more impressive than anything I could even imagine!

But yesterday, really reaffirmed that while I appreciate the presents, gift giving is definitely not my love language-like bottom of the list! I also realized how much I appreciate words of affirmation more than I thought I did. Don't get me wrong, quality time and physical touch will always fight for the number 1 spot, but sweet words warm my heart. See? I'm learning more about myself everyday! Thanks to everyone who made my day so special. I am truly blessed!