Here I am 5 days past my 30th
birthday and I have come out mostly unscathed, with the exception of a mildly
injured knee which is currently in a brace. This is unfortunately common for me
and could have been predicted by a near stranger. I should have put “don’t get
injured” on my list!
I was fortunate to have Thursday
through yesterday off from work, as did my husband. My birthday weekend was
very fun and filled with surprises. “Birthday weekend”…does everyone do this or
is it just me? How does one day suddenly turn into multiple days dedicated to
one person? Oh well, it was a wonderful weekend at any rate.
On my birthday, my husband and I
went to Bristol, RI where we stayed at a cozy little Bed & Breakfast. On
the way there, we stopped at two wineries which was a great way to kick things
off! After checking in to the B&B, I was swept off to Providence where two
surprise stops awaited me. First, we went to a record store that I didn’t even
know existed (I used to live in the capital city) to browse the vinyl in search
of something released in 1982. To my excitement, we found a Pat Benitar record
that met the requirements.
Our second stop in Providence was to
my favorite bakery, Pastiche, where there was a birthday cake awaiting our
arrival. This was such an unexpected treat, major points for my husband!! After
picking up the cake we made our way to this little Irish restaurant, RiRa where
we split a delicious dinner. Our next stop was back to the B&B for some
R&R. It was such a great day, but I was exhausted!
On Saturday I had a few girlfriends
over for a relaxing afternoon of cocktails, movies, and manicures. This might
not be everyone’s ideal birthday party, but it was just what I wanted and it
was so much fun. I was even surprised with a unicorn balloon from my friend
Ramona who is always telling me “you’re only as old as you feel.” I love my
friends!
I am pleased to say that through all
the hustle and bustle of the weekend, I was actually able to kick off my 30 for
Thirty list with some real gusto. I managed to read most days and am hoping to
finish The Help by Kathryn Stockett before the end of the month. In the
interest of full disclosure, I had actually started this book at the beginning
of February, before I created the list. In addition to the reading, I also made
two new recipes; buffalo chicken dip and chicken salad for sandwiches. I got
the buffalo dip recipe from my friend Ramona and it was a big hit, as was the
chicken salad which I kind of just threw together.
I was not able to always stick to my
goal of being honest with my feelings and I am beginning to see that this will
be a very challenging one for me. I have a couple of close friends with whom I
have recently lost contact with for one reason or another, and I was really
missing them. I found myself wanting to reach out to them but each time I
started to, something stopped me.
Typically birthdays are times when
people reconnect, but that was not the case with these friends. I realize that
the need to reconnect and hold on to these relationships may very well be one
sided and my desire to keep relationships from dissolving is something I have
always struggled with. This is all part of the journey, it just might be one of
the larger hurdles.
“If you love something, let it go.
If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never
meant to be.” ~ Unknown
This quote makes me wonder…what if I’m
not here when it comes back?
First steps in the record books :) <3
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