i love the month of may for many reasons. not least of which is my birthday. i love birthdays. but i have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. i've thought about turning 25 alot while i was growing up. i always planned out my future until 25. high school, college, adventure and then 25 and uncertainty. what if i hadn't gotten married, how would i feel? (yes, i did just let you in on that) i didn't know what it would like for those five years till i got old and mature at 30, this is my 13 year old mind working here, but still i think these projections have shaped how i feel about 25. that i better start getting started on the rest of my life, that i better have purpose now, that i can't just have fun forever. are these assumptions true? i do hope that 25 finds purpose but i really hope that i drink lots of good coffee, listen to lots of wonderful music and eat many more amazing meals with the people i love. here's to 25!
what has it taken me 25 years to learn?
(i answered this last year here)
and
where were you at 25?
i'd love to hear your answers, think of it as a birthday gift.
where was i at 25 huh? well that question really brings back some memories.
ReplyDeletei had just gotten to the west coast. i started out hitch-hiking and hopping trains. after a few rough nights and death defying rides with strangers, i finally planted my feet on the foggy hills of san francisco.
i met a gorgeous red headed girl while i was busking at the ferry building farmers market. she came gliding through the crowds that were milling around each of the farm stands set up by the dock. the girl had a basket filled to overflowing with strawberries and asparagus. i knew she was the one for me.
so i winked, smiled and started playing a song just for her.
that was all it took.
we lived in a small apartment by the bay where we could hear the ships coming under the golden gate bridge at night, blowing their fog horns and riding in from far and wide slow and steady. sometime the fog was so heavy, it made time stand still, as if it needed to be nudged along by the bay breeze if it was ever going to pass.
we spent our nights writing, listening to records, and poring over our favorite photography. during the day we rambled the ins and outs of the city avoiding the Squares and G-men, looking for the people and places that were really real and true.
not much has changed since my 25th year. i'd have to say, that if was asked to pin one down and categorize it, id have to say that my 25th year was the best one so far. it was surely the most beautiful.
i hope hers is the same...
Oh geez. I'm supposed to follow THAT?! Thanks, JF. Thanks a lot. ;)
ReplyDeleteAfter a math calculation that proved to be a little tricky, I found that I was in Northern California--just outside SF--teaching preschool music, art & Spanish and in my first year of grad school. I got my nose pierced at 25, because 26 is just too old to do something like. I spent my summer trapped in a far away & exotic land called Mexico. I moved in with a real, live Marin family & fell in love--with so many things & just a few people. I had sleepovers & dinner parties & coffee & beer tastings. My 25th year, I was with you, sweet Christina. Happy Birthday, friend! :)
Hmmm... 25 years ago today, well that's a easy one!
ReplyDeleteCarol and I were celebrating the birth of our first child, an amazing little girl named Christina.
I have often told the story of how that when you were born, the world around us in the delivery room became very quite and somehow far away as I looked down in your gorgeous blue eyes and could tell immediately that god had gifted us and the world with someone very special.
I slipped into a quite room and went to my knees as I lifted you up to God (literally) and consecrated you to him. It was a special moment that I will never forget.
Since then, your life, and your future has been in Gods hands and I have worried very little as I never doubted Gods plans for your life. God has gifted you with a love for people and a joy for life that is contagious.
Continue to bless others with your joy and happiness!
We love you so much!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Daddy and Mother