A Quarter of a Century

Well, my 25th birthday is fast approaching. Only four more days until I turn the big 25! For some reason 25 seems like a big deal in some small way. Every year I get a little older, but usually I never feel that different. But with 25 I feel as if there's been a change...I feel a little wiser than a year ago and I also feel older, but still in a young way (if that makes any sense?). With 24 a lot changed...Antoine and I grew closer together, we went on our first international trip together (Jamaica), we bought a house, got a kitten, and worked our butts off trying to prepare for a future together. If I had to guess, I'd say that 25 is going to be even better! I see a lot more working at Sbux in my future, but I also see many great things happening too! A couple months ago I had said to one of my fellow baristas at Sbux that I had a goal...to be done with Sbux by May. As of now, I don't think that's going to happen. It would be nice to have only one job and while sometimes I want to scream about having two, most of the time (usually when I'm home with Antoine and we're talking about what we see in our future) I see very clearly why I have two jobs and why we are working so hard right now...and that makes me a very lucky person!

Anyway, back to my birthday...I've got a slew of plans this weekend. Some years ago my best friend Amanda and I wondered, "why should our birthday be boiled down into just one day?" If you look at your birthday as a celebration of the past year of your life and as your life as a whole, one day just doesn't seem like enough. So, we decided that birthdays should be events, lasting several days and consisting of anything and everything you find enjoyable! So, in that tradition my pre-birthday weekend plans include a girls' day of vintage store shopping and delicious dinner on Saturday and German food, beer, bowling, and birthday cake on Sunday with the whole gang! Doing this allows me to celebrate my birthday with a number of my close friends (many of whom I don't get to see near as much as I'd like to) while also incorporating some of my favorite activities and food! Most importantly, it allows me to spend my actual birthday (Tuesday) with Antoine and only Antoine (well, and the cats)! With us both working as much as we are those days off together where we can do whatever we want and just enjoy each others company without being exhausted or thinking about work are few and far between. So, when we do have one of those days, we cherish it! In fact, we usually get downright giddy about it! I am, just thinking about Tuesday!