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Apr. 28th, 2013 10:00 amYesterday was quite a lovely birthday indeed. We hiked in a place I'd never been, called Sauvie Island. I love how Portland is this big city with big city things and then you can go just a few minutes outside of downtown and suddenly you're deep in the woods. It's one of my many favorite things about living here. The hike is along the Columbia River to a lighthouse, a 7-mile round trip, which I guess I should call a walk rather than hike, because being at the river's edge, there wasn't much in the way of elevation gain. There were lots of beaches (including a nude one I didn't know existed). The concept of a river beach was foreign to me before moving out here. There might be a few sandy spots along the James or Rivanna, but they're not recreation spots at all. These were real, large sandy beaches, complete with families on beach towels and kids playing in the (bitterly cold snow-melt!!) water. We saw a sea lion frolicking, some bald eagles, and also a dead mole. One of these was less exciting than the other two.
Back home, we had a brief siesta where I had some time to Skype with Lucy and Frankie. Lucy said she just finished writing a report about Granddaddy (my dad) for a school project. I really hope I get to read it. When I asked what she wrote about, she said "EVERYTHING!" and then specified "and that time he was on a date with Nana and they were playing tennis and he split his pants!" Ha! I didn't know that story...but I'm glad it made it into her school report! People reassembled at my place at 6ish, and we played board games and ate yummy things until we were all tuckered out. Today I'm lounging in bed until something forces me up. That will probably be when Katy and her friend get here. I told her I'd spend the day with her and take her downtown. It should be fun.
I'd like to take a moment to clarify some family dynamics that I write about, which may be a little confusing. I am the baby of my family, but I have a little sister. Little sister is Emily, who is actually not a relative, but my neighbor since she was born until we went on to college. She's a year younger than I am, and we have been inseparable for our entire lives. She is a part of my family and I hers, and it feels like I'm underselling our relationship when I refer to her only as "best friend." She is my sister. We just have different parents and DNA and all that.
My husband McKenzie is an only child, but he has a little sister, too. Sort of. He has a cousin (first cousin once removed, actually, his first cousin's daughter) who has had kind of a tumultuous childhood, to say the least. My in-laws have been the only family that have really been there for her, and two years ago, they became her legal guardians. Katy is 16 now, and I really enjoy spending time with her. She's a great kid and I love her to pieces. I just try to be a safe place for her. So she's my little sister-in-law, and we're hanging out later today.
Anyway. 30. For all the time I spent thinking about it before the actual day, it hasn't really hit me yet that it's actually come to pass. Maybe there's nothing to hit me, and the big secret is that nothing changes at all. I've never put much stock in arbitrary dates on the calendar having real meaning or power, but I have always felt a little special in spite of my own philosophies on my birthdays. Yesterday was lovely, but more than any other birthday before it, it felt like just another day, even though I had special events with friends going on all day. I just expected maybe to feel something about this decade marker, but I think I've actually been feeling it since I turned 29. I've spent the last year so aware that my 20's were coming to an end that I must have numbed myself to the impact of 30 already. Or maybe there is no impact. I'm still exactly who I was on April 26th, it turns out. And thank FSM I'm not who I was when I was 25. I think my 30's are going to be great.
Back home, we had a brief siesta where I had some time to Skype with Lucy and Frankie. Lucy said she just finished writing a report about Granddaddy (my dad) for a school project. I really hope I get to read it. When I asked what she wrote about, she said "EVERYTHING!" and then specified "and that time he was on a date with Nana and they were playing tennis and he split his pants!" Ha! I didn't know that story...but I'm glad it made it into her school report! People reassembled at my place at 6ish, and we played board games and ate yummy things until we were all tuckered out. Today I'm lounging in bed until something forces me up. That will probably be when Katy and her friend get here. I told her I'd spend the day with her and take her downtown. It should be fun.
I'd like to take a moment to clarify some family dynamics that I write about, which may be a little confusing. I am the baby of my family, but I have a little sister. Little sister is Emily, who is actually not a relative, but my neighbor since she was born until we went on to college. She's a year younger than I am, and we have been inseparable for our entire lives. She is a part of my family and I hers, and it feels like I'm underselling our relationship when I refer to her only as "best friend." She is my sister. We just have different parents and DNA and all that.
My husband McKenzie is an only child, but he has a little sister, too. Sort of. He has a cousin (first cousin once removed, actually, his first cousin's daughter) who has had kind of a tumultuous childhood, to say the least. My in-laws have been the only family that have really been there for her, and two years ago, they became her legal guardians. Katy is 16 now, and I really enjoy spending time with her. She's a great kid and I love her to pieces. I just try to be a safe place for her. So she's my little sister-in-law, and we're hanging out later today.
Anyway. 30. For all the time I spent thinking about it before the actual day, it hasn't really hit me yet that it's actually come to pass. Maybe there's nothing to hit me, and the big secret is that nothing changes at all. I've never put much stock in arbitrary dates on the calendar having real meaning or power, but I have always felt a little special in spite of my own philosophies on my birthdays. Yesterday was lovely, but more than any other birthday before it, it felt like just another day, even though I had special events with friends going on all day. I just expected maybe to feel something about this decade marker, but I think I've actually been feeling it since I turned 29. I've spent the last year so aware that my 20's were coming to an end that I must have numbed myself to the impact of 30 already. Or maybe there is no impact. I'm still exactly who I was on April 26th, it turns out. And thank FSM I'm not who I was when I was 25. I think my 30's are going to be great.
