Twenty-Four

So last Saturday was my 24th birthday. It still hasn't quite sunk in that I am that old. How can I seriously be in my mid-twenties when I still feel 12? I'm determined to have a good year this year. 24 is twice as much as my favorite number so shouldn't the year be twice the fun?

The actual birthday itself was probably one of my best birthdays so far. I spent the morning playing ultimate frisbee--one of the greatest sports known to humankind--then spent the afternoon my best friend. We had a short picnic of sandwiches by a river and then went to a movie. Spending those few hours with him were fantastic. I felt appreciated and loved. He had listened to obscure things I had said the last few weeks and had tried to make all my dreams come true. I had just recently told him I missed the water and that all I wanted to do on my birthday was wear a sundress and spend time outside (a risky wish seeing as it's been snowing this week in New Jersey, but God was kind and the sun came out with a decently warm temperature in the upper 50's). Hence, the picnic by the river. He also knew that I love Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame) so we went to see their new movie Paul. He apparently had been researching the movie for a week to make sure it would be something that I would enjoy. I was deeply touched by his thoughtfulness. That alone made my birthday one of the best days of my life. I then went out to dinner with the majority of my closest seminary friends. We ate, drank margaritas and had a great time. The evening ended with cake, ice cream, dancing, and darts in the basement of one of the dorms here. At the end of the night, I was perfectly content. The only thing I could have wanted was for my family and my friends who don't live in the area to have been there. Based off that one night, twenty-four was looking like a great year.

But I'm learning God has quite the sense of humor. The day after my birthday, I came down with a nasty chest cold that has kept me pretty much tethered to my bed for the whole week. And as I mentioned earlier, it has been snowing. Spending hours in bed is not at all how I would have liked to start out a new year, but it's where I am. I am having to life out my year's theme, "Don't worry, be happy" (I was introduced to the tradition of having a theme for each year of life by my friend Megan last year on her birthday) in more ways that I could have expected. But I am learning how to really live this out and be content with whatever circumstances come my way. As much as I hate being sick, it has given me the opportunity to slow down a little bit and to read a book I have been wanting to finish for a long time. I'm just hoping I'm not sick for too much longer so that I can get up and make it to the library to start researching the many papers I have.

I think 24 is going to be a good year. If nothing else, I think I'll learn a lot.