well hello 27

Birthday cake my advertising class group (team 7!) made for me my fourth year of college

Today is my twenty-seventh birthday (!!!) 

While I’m not sure if I’ll continue to enjoy birthdays as I get into my thirties and beyond, right now I still really like them. Fact of the matter is birthdays are a perfect excuse to rent party buses, treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure, online shop at Nordstrom all month, and of course get the most expensive Starbucks drink in a venti with an extra shot because it’s free. 

It’s easy to get down or bitter with each passing year. And it’s easy to think about where we “should” be and compare where we actually are with friends, family, and random people who have poor security settings on Facebook and Instagram. I’ve written about my best friend being married and pregnant (which you can read about here) update now is that she’s had her baby (!!!!) and my older brother got engaged two weeks ago (!!!!) 

Yes, a lot of people in my life are having big life events. But I’m having one too. 

The other day while talking with a friend about a dilemma she was in I started to think about myself and I realized that I was just super comfortable -- actually happy -- with where I am in my life. I can’t pinpoint what made me think this but recanting the thought to another friend later I admitted that I used to say that I was comfortable and happy with where I was in the past but often I wasn’t. The fact that I wasn’t in a relationship or sometimes felt stagnated professionally or whatever else was not completely ideal really bothered me. 

So I guess you wake up the week of your twenty-seventh birthday and that all changes? Well, not exactly. Sure there are things I’d change or areas I am still working on improving but that doesn’t happen overnight, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t want it to. (Though if somehow the last 8 car payments I need to make could just magically go away I’d be cool with that)

Maybe in a year or five or fifteen I’ll think back on this birthday and wonder how I could have been this content at this moment but if that’s the case then I assume I’ll be somewhere so wonderfully unfathomable since as I greet 27 today I can say that I’m so happy with where I am, excited for where I’m going, and I’m ready for a hell of a year! 


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An update to this birthday post that's already about pure happiness and sincere appreciation...

I can say without a hint of exaggeration that I have never felt so much love from so many people at one point in my life. Before I even woke up my phone was buzzing with messages and I teared up (told ya I was a sap) more than once before even getting my Sbux from all the kind words. A smile has never left my face all day and it's barely the afternoon.

I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family in my life. Antoher testament to how important it is to surround yourself with people who love you and positive energy; kind words and thoughts and good feelings really can mean and change the world.   

Not Stopping at Ninety: A Special Thursday Edition

"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." - Charles Darwin

I'll take a break from my planned Thursday blog post approach of Been There, Done That for a special homage to my Grandmother. Or perhaps we can consider since this is about her it's the ultimate Been There, Done That. 

Yesterday was my Grandmother's 90th birthday. Tomorrow I'm flying out to Arizona to celebrate with her and our family. To say I'm excited is an understatement.

See my grandmother, Martha, is one of the best, coolest, sassiest, and most spirited people I know. She has more spunk than some people I know my own age. Those who know her could share funny anecdote after anecdote, like the time she waltzed into a wedding rehearsal at the chapel on grounds at UVA because she wanted to see the inside of the building; my mom, friends and I waited for her outside mortified only to watch her walk out of the chapel less than five minutes later arm in arm with her new best bud, the bride. That's Martha. Lighthearted, fun, spirited, fearless, and up for anything. 

I am over the moon that we get to share this with her and celebrate her life.

Earlier this week I got to thinking about what happens over the course of ninety years and the above quote by one of the biggest fans of change and adaptation, Charles Darwin.

Lil' Martha was born in 1923. When she was born the world was still trying to catch its breath from World War I and the catastrophic causalities from influenza just years before.  In 1923 the first portable radio was available was made available but the now famous Hollywood sign in California, and all it stands for, had yet to be erected.

She was born the same year that residential refrigerators were first made available though it would be years before a typical family had one of these considering the economic state of the country in 1923. Now a basic dorm room isn't considered complete without one.

She's lived under 16 different US presidents, through all 94 Academy Award Shows -- with the option to watch the 60th one on broadcast this Sunday -- and every spacecraft launch. She's been told of both the "benefits" of tobacco and within the same half a century its life threatening side effects. She could have had a bob, an afro, used pin curls, straightened her hair with an actual iron, had a perm, colored her hair purple, and jumped between the Rachel and a Kate Gosselin inspired haircut all within her ninety years.

From the significant to the arguably unimportant she's been exposed to, enjoyed, dealt with, and battled a lot over the course of her ninety years. It's amazing to think about and really helpful to put -- and keep -- things in perspective.

It's so easy to become overwhelmed with any sort of change; at times truly embracing it and the bumps and bends of life can really be a struggle. But as Char-Dar tells us so astutely and as Martha reminds us with her spunk, her sass, her strength, and her stamina, those who can manage it and flex with it end up the most successful in dealing with it.

Happy Birthday Grammy!!! Now a little picture of me and my girl...

Me and Martha on a cruise around Lake Winnipesaukee in her hometown, Wolfeboro, NH