A Toast, To Getting Older

On a muddy riverbank south of the Thames there is a pub called The Ship. I am thinking about this pub today because it is my birthday, and because last year this time I was living in London, toasting white wine and sharing a plate of chips with good friends there. My 7th grade crush, now a US air force pilot, came to celebrate with two of his buddies from the force. They were stationed in Germany and up for an adventure to London. Then there were my Aussie friends, who always represent on a night out. Friends who I've worked with, studied with, danced with were there. My friends whose shoulders I cried on re: relationships that weren't working out, they were there too. When I think of all the friends I've had over the years I am overwhelmed. The more I move around, the more my friends begin to represent all that I've done in my life.   


So a year on, my life looks completely different. The setting, my hairstyle (long hair, bangs), not to mention the age (29 gasp!) have all changed. In the past year I have 1) resigned from a career, 2) moved from Europe back to the U.S., 3) become a full-time student, 4)gone from being single to being in a relationship, and 5) felt serene about all of these changes.  Like a river rock, never surrounded by the same water but still a rock (with bangs) - that is how I feel right now. It's as if I have reached a new plane of emotional wholeness I didn't know I was capable of reaching. Getting. Older. Is. Awesome.


Marcie and I often find ourselves taking moments to appreciate what is going on in our lives. When one of us begins to say, "can I just take a moment..." our partners inevitably roll their eyes at our sentimentality. But talking about stuff we appreciate is a way of life for us, and no degree of mocking will stop us. So now I'd just like to take a moment... to appreciate all of my friends old and new, and wherever you are in the world. May you drink deeply from the Starbucks cup of life and never want for adventure. 
                             
                                  Love,
                                  Melissa