35!

Today is my birthday!  Today I am 35!  It does not seem possible that anything in my life would have been that long ago, but as it turns out, 35 years ago I surprised a random police officer by being born in his patrol car.  I often wonder if he is over that yet?   How long would it actually take to recover from an unexpected birth in the backseat of your car?  Three and a half decades, perhaps?

Those surrounding me seem to think the 35th is monumental, and I am sure I would make a big deal about another's milestone birthday.  It was, afterall, Todd's 35th that was grounds for a wonderful wine tasting.   But, I have no particular feelings about turning 35.  It just seems like another day.  Aging is a slow and gradual process mixed in to the rapid passing of time leaving me, well, confused.  I don't fully understand how the 21 year old, eyes wide opened, dreamin' big dreams, me got here, to this point, in this reality with just a few blinks.  Many days I feel like that same young kid, albeit with a husband, three sons, and ten pounds, none of which I could have ever imagined in my early twenties.

At some point in my younger years thirty five seemed old.  When I was 7 my mom was 35.  She must have seemed old, since my 13 year old brother seemed old to me then.  I remember my mom, then, in the house I grew up in, dressed in jeans with one foot atop the stone wall we had at the fireplace.  She stood there with her thumb hooked on her belt loop and she looked "cool" as my first grade mind defined it.  I was embarrassed that my mom may have been cool but not nearly as embarrassed as I would have been if she weren't cool.  I wondered if I would be cool when I was 35.  Or just old.

And here I am.  Cool?  Old?  Not sure.  Tired!  Achy! Definitely.  I feel like I am supposed to be more mature, more responsible.  As if I should retire my jeans and sneakers, for slacks and blouses?  Or, I should change my DVR recordings to Dancing with the Stars instead of Gossip Girl?  But, as it turns out, 35 is just one day past being 34, and at 34 I felt like this.

But, for the sake of record keeping, so that when I am 70 I can remember the 35 year old me (just in case I no longer feel like I am 21) I will make some notes of myself.

I am a jeans and t-shirt girl, who prefers sneakers or flip flops.  Most days.  I will alter that uniform gladly, when necessary!  I love a Saturday night out with my husband and our friends enjoying dinner and drinks and the occasional movie.  I love food- eating it, cooking it, trying new foods.  Ethnic foods are preferred, sushi being my favorite.  I love wine, preferrably red.  And, I love food with wine.  Oh yeah, and chocolate too.  With food, with wine, by itself!  I love my friends and consider them, all of them, a big part of my life.  The older I get, the more evident it is that girlfriends are an absolute must in a womans's life.  I like sports, particularly the Phillies, and am thrilled my boys are beginning to play.  I love silly television shows that are mindless and dramatic.  I like to play games; scrabble, cranium, and beer pong to name a few.  I love the beach, especially in the off-season.  And, although I rarely take one, I thoroughly enjoy a good bike ride.  And, I love books, but I rarely read them these days.  I am laid back, and humorous, and can get a bit flighty.  I like details, and love events, especially planning them.  I love to accomplish things but tend to procrastinate, so accomplishment often takes time.  Time I am often short on.  I can fall asleep at a blink of an eye, sometimes with a cup of coffee in hand.  I still like to dream, and wonder what can be when I grow up or win the lottery, whichever comes first.  But, most of my dreams have been realized in the love of my husband and the joy of my three boys.  Although I sometimes do, I don't think you should sweat the small stuff, and I've learned enough in my days to know that someone always has it better and someone always has it worse than you do, so just count your blessings.  Always!!

Today is a beautiful day.  Todd took off from work, greeted me flowers and truffles, and he and I and Turner walked around Lahaska.  Once we picked up Chase and Ryder we all went to the playground before heading to Mt. Fuji for family dinner, where my mother joined us.  A new tradition we have started since, for reasons I can't be sure of, the boys eat well and behave well when we do the "dinner show," as they call it.  Far cry from our first hibachi experience.  And, just to make us proud, they even use chopsticks.  After dinner it was back home for cake!

the best attempt at a shot with all three boys!

What a great day!!!!