A Special Birthday

In my last post, I wrote about the loss and memory of my grandmother. During the time of the funeral and being with family, a very special day occurred: my birthday. It's still hard to fathom, but I turned a quarter of a century old. The big 25. I can now rent a car without much trouble, and I'm a year away from needing to find my own health insurance. That's not something I'm really looking forward to, though.

Now, before everything that happened, I really had no plans for my birthday. Getting together with family up here in Montana was about as close as it came to a big celebration. While I love my friends here, I'm not a huge club or bar goer, so getting wasted wasn't all that exciting of a thought. The only I considered was caving in to my bestie's wishes and heading to Vegas for a weekend. Sadly, I have no money to do so, so that was out of the question. Either way, I'd planned to have a small, quiet birthday.

I still got that, as we were driving back home and couldn't really stop anywhere. But I did have one request. Old Navy. On the way home, my parents obliged my need for clothes and we managed to stop at an Old Navy in Utah. I had a deadline for how long I could shop, and and I stuck to it. Thirty minutes, and my mother's generosity, got me seven long-sleeved t-shirts, and one short-sleeved one. I'm prepped and ready for the wintertime now! After that quick trip, all I had to look forward to was a stop at the Olive Garden in Idaho Falls. If you don't know me, you don't know how much I love Olive Garden. If possible, it is high on my list of places to stop to eat and it never takes me long to order. This time around, I got one of those dulcinies so I could have some sort of 'cake' on my birthday. It was DELICIOUS. I wish I could have another right this moment. And our waitress was so sweet and put a little candle on it for me to blow out. The rest of the ride home was quiet, and I tried to sleep as much as I could.

The day before, I got to celebrate with my dad's side of the family. It wasn't everyone, but to those who had a chance to enjoy the yummy cake my thoughtful aunt bought, I thank you. It meant a lot to me. While I enjoy presents and cards, what I love most is to spend time with those I love and create the memories that stick with me for every birthday that comes next.

Now comes the hardest part. While I love my birthday, the reason for it being bittersweet was because of one very important thing: I very proudly share my grandparents wedding anniversary. On November 5th, 1948, my grandparents were married, and in 1987, I was born. It was to be their 64th anniversary this year, and it's hard to believe that they are no longer a part of the living so they can celebrate. But I know they are celebrating in the here-after, all the way over in Hawaii. Or maybe somewhere else.

I may shed tears because of how much I miss them, and the reminder that my birthday celebrates both life and love, but I will never, ever regret that I share this day with them. It is special to me, and I will cherish this day always.