I'm Feeling 32

On Tuesday, it was my birthday.  As I have repeatedly told you, I adore special occasions and I am lucky enough to be married to a man who helps to feed that adoration.  Adam undeniably spoils me on my birthday, my birthday eve and my birthday week.  I hope that I take advantage of the opportunities to spoil him too, but right now, I am still basking in the reverberations of birthday week 2k16 and I know, that I don’t ever do it as well as he does.  Today and every day, I am thankful for Adam. 

Anyway, this year I turned 32.  To sort of quote the immortal words of Taylor Swift (and by quote I mean change to fit my situation), I’m feeling 32.  At this moment, I mean I’m feeling it in all the ways possible.  I am feeling 32 in that my body has suddenly started to feel 32.  On the other hand, I’m feeling it in that so far, it’s a good age.  Since I’ve been 32, I’ve played babies, I’ve dried tears, I’ve laughed, I’ve celebrated a graduation, I’ve been on a road trip (albeit a short and familiar one), I’ve had cake, I’ve said thank you, I’ve taken pictures, I’ve sung songs, I’ve continued building some cloud castles and as always, I’ve taken stock of things as they stand on my birthday.

While both nostalgia, embarrassment and possibly even regret have their place and time, I don’t think birthdays are that time.  To me, birthdays are a celebration; a time to mark the successes of the year.  Remember the good times, the laughter, the love, the wins and to simultaneously acknowledge the triumph over the failures, the sadness.  Triumph includes just facing another day, even if it’s an ongoing struggle.

I’m currently planning Amelia’s second birthday party.  This one is going to be as low-key as I can handle and I’m intentionally making it less work than last year’s one-year-old bash.  Even so, it makes me think about birthdays in general.  I hope that I’m teaching Amelia that birthdays are an occasion to celebrate, with the people that are important to you, no matter how old you are.   We get caught up in begrudging ourselves for getting older, when really; we should be excited for another year.  I would never give up any of my previous years in exchange for being younger.  I am proud of my age and all that I’ve done in the 32 years I’ve been given.  Of course, there are things that I want to do better in the coming year, dreams I want to realize, hopes I want to encourage, interests I want to foster.  It isn’t that I’ve been anywhere near perfect.  It’s that I am thankful for my 32 years and I am thrilled to have been 32 for almost a week and for 51 more weeks. 

Birthdays are not about the cake, the presents, the attention; it’s about being given another year, the possibilities of the future, the relationships formed in that year and what you can share with the world – tangibly or otherwise.  And, right now, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 32.

Hockey In The South - Just Give It A Go

As I settle in for Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals in the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff between the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks, I'm reminded of where the Nashville Predators franchise was in the fall of 1998.

I had a minuscule amount of knowledge of the game of hockey. I knew that NHL 1993 on the Super Nintendo was a great video game, and that I loved playing with Pittsburgh Penguins, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, who just resigned with the Florida Panthers for a 1 year contract at the age of 44!  I heard several speakers from the Predators organization around Nashville trying to drum up interest in a hotbed of collegiate and NFL football fanbases.

Only after attending a game at then Nashville Arena, did I realize how awesome this game was. The physical ability of players of their size and skill skating up and down the ice at full speed trying to put a frozen piece of rubber into a net is mind-boggling, especially to a southerner. The fighting was novel, but quickly subsided and gave way to a more appreciative respect for the game.

However, what the experience of becoming a hockey fan has taught me is to give 'things' a chance, whether those 'things' are books, perspectives, relationships, opportunities, music, etc. I could have given up on hockey after the first game, and I didn't have much fun or any idea what was really happening. I would've missed out on some great experiences and a deeper knowledge of 'things' this world has to offer.

I realize that I'm making a ridiculous comparison about how hockey has influenced my perspective on life, but here it is.

Let's Go Preds!!!