27.

Saturday was my 27th birthday.




It was early on a Sunday morning when I was born.
Every year mom tells me the same thing on August 16th.
"You know what I was doing 27/26/25/24/ect years ago?"
"Making enchiladas," I say.
"Yep, I stayed up really late making dinner for the next day so I wouldn't have to after church. And I made banana pudding pie for dessert."

We made it an early morning as mom and dad joined myself and Sara'a mom and sister, Liz, at the Farmers Market.  With coffee in one hand and bagels in the other we found a table to sit and chat a while.

 Everyone else had a lovely cupcake from Happy Dance (none for me - dairy) that I hear was quite delicious.

 Zachary gave me a facetime ring from Purdue so mom and I could get a good look at his newly acquired injury.  He managed a trip to the emergency room during orientation after colliding with another student during a "fountain run" - a time-honored tradition at Purdue.  Seven stitches later he will have a nice scar to match the one from childhood on his cheek.

 The family baked 11 pies - strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, pumpkin, apple, and coconut cream - for our Sunday dinner guests.

After Sunday guests had gone home, some how a late-night tea party with Lewis, his Rachel and her sister Ellie happened over this pile of pies.  There were two pots of tea and much giggling.  Farmers Market with Sara, lunch with Alex, and tea with Rachel...I am so fond of the sweet ladies the brothers bring into my life.

But on Saturday night I went to my dinner shift at the restaurant.

 The next morning Josiah sent me this sweet message.

27.  It has been a mentally tough birthday to approach.  I've never experienced trepidation for a birthday before but this one have not been looking forward to for months.  I think twenty-six went by so fast.  Seriously, it was a blink of an eye and full of good stuff.  It was normal, casual and everyday.  Twenty-seven will be different.  I think the part that makes this number hard to accept is that going into it I know that my twenty-seven will (and is) so very different from the twenty-seven of my friends.   Now it is here, now I must accept that and make it count.

Each year for my birthday I like to make a resolution or a goal.  This year I would like to send more written correspondence.  At one point in life I was very good at this and now I am very lacking.  As life became more normal, casual and everyday I had very little time and effort left for something as small as a handwritten note.  That will change.

Today, I did receive a letter.  It was in response to one I had sent.

In the final few moments of my 27th birthday I bought a plane ticket.  On October 1st I will fly one-way, nonstop and destined West.

Yes, 27 will be a very interesting year.