Yesterday I turned 26. I had a wonderful weekend full of family and friends and food. On Saturday night we all went out to dinner and watched Die Hard 5: you just can’t beat a Bruce Willis on your birthday. Also, I got to eat fried haloumi and freckle lollies (not at the same time), which makes me very happy.
Chris and I on Saturday night.
My favourite memory of this weekend? Chris and I were still awake studying on Saturday night when the night hours ticked over from 11:59 to 12:00; he sang me ‘Happy Birthday’ as we fell asleep because he knows it is my favourite thing about my birthday. We had lunch with Mum, Dad, Jess, and Trent at a little café called Bumbles at the Gold Coast, and then I got to dip my toes in the ocean and say goodbye to 25 and hello to all the new adventures that 26 will bring. The water was cold, and I only let the water lap over my feet for a short time, but the symbolic washing away of the old and welcoming of the new was there. Holding Chris’s hand and laughing as Mum tried to photograph us while we squinted into the sun I could feel the love that surrounds me and the connection between me and the people who share my life.
Papa Bear and Mama Chickpea
A huge thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes to me yesterday. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.
Jess and her Trent
Last night as I tucked my newly 26-year old self into bed I made a list of 26 things.
5 Goals:
- Complete a romantic fiction manuscript by my 27th birthday
- Run two more half marathons
- Learn to ride a bicycle
- Knit my green scarf (before the end of winter this year!)
- Start collecting family stories on tape – fodder for future writing projects
5 Adventures to Have:
- The Lighthouse Walk at Byron Bay
- Tough Mudder 2013
- Walking in Carnarvon Gorge National Park
- Go kayaking
- Apple picking in Stanthorpe
5 Cooking Experiments:
- Gluten-free ANZAC biscuits
- Apple pie
- Gluten-free muesli bars
- Crème Brulee
- Gluten-free biscotti
5 Useful Things to Learn:
- How to change a tyre
- How to iron (properly)
- How to make gravy Mum’s way
- How to do my own taxes
- How to curl my own hair
5 Little Mantras:
- No day but today – Rent (the musical)
- Built for life – Bryan Adams
- Be in love with your life. Every detail of it. – Jack Kerouac
- Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
- Let all that you do be done in love.
One thought (to make it an even 26):
Every day of my twenty-six years on earth have been spent knowing that I am loved. Even through the darkest days, the deepest places of my earthen soul, my way has been lit by the love of those who surround me.
I hope that I can spend the rest of my life showing those around me that my love follows them, holds them, nourishes them, every day.
On the beach; never mind our squinting eyes and my crazy hair…
Dear reader, are there any adventures or useful things I should add to the list? Any cooking experiments you would like to see me tackle on Thoroughly Nourished Life?
