I’ve been reflecting on the last week and thinking about how this was one of my best birthdays in the last 3 years. With 2020 and 2021 birthdays in quarantine and a loss of a friend, then 2022, I just wasn’t where I had hoped to be in the sense of my career. Little did I know that 10 days after my birthday last year, my life would change.
Everything happens in its own time when it’s meant to. It’s just really hard in those moments of wanting that change so much and not knowing when the opportunity will come. But if we really knew when the opportunity was going to come, then it wouldn’t feel as special nor have as much gratitude when it did come (in my own opinion). I write this to keep reminding myself because there is always something else that you want that doesn’t happen when you want it. I have been journaling a lot more and it has helped me with my thoughts, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to accept.
It feels weird to say I’m 33. I feel like once you hit 30, you really start forgetting your age. Or maybe that’s just me? I would also say that odd numbers are not my favorite, but I have a good feeling with 33 this year so let’s embrace that.
Back in March, I started thinking about what I wanted to do for my birthday. I really like to have some sort of plans for my birthday. Given that my birthday fell on Easter this year, I felt it would be difficult to get together with some friends if they were celebrating Easter with their families. I knew Brian would likely be working as well. So I invited myself to my friend’s place in Rochester, NY since it was an easy drive and I hadn’t seen her in a few months. I split up the drive with a stop in Binghamton, working remotely for a day then heading up Friday evening, about a 2.5 hour drive from Binghamton. As soon as I got there, we couldn’t stop talking and we stayed up until 11:30pm which is quite late for me. It was the best night though. My favorite thing to do with friends these days is just sit and chat about life and everything. I don’t know if that’s a thing that comes with getting older, but lately that’s my favorite.
Saturday (April 8), we were both up by 6:30am even with the late night. I had cinnamon rolls and eggs for breakfast and then we headed out for a hike.
It was a chilly morning, in the upper 30s. I was glad I keep gloves in my jacket pocket because my hands got cold. Besides the cold, the sun and fresh air felt nice and we ended up hiking about 3 miles.
After the hike, we had about an hour to change clothes and relax before going out to lunch. I had a delicious chicken panini. I wanted something warm after the hike.
Then we went to Artisan Works, which is like a giant art gallery that hosts a lot of events. We happened to get there about 30 minutes before the tour of some additional spaces. The tour was amazing and made the visit worth it. In all, we spent almost 2 hours there. I would highly recommend if you are ever in Rochester, NY.
After that, we were both getting tired, although I think it was mostly dehydration for me. I ended up drinking several glasses of water when we got back and eventually got a second wind of energy. We played VR Oculus for a bit which I had never played. It was fun once I started to figure it out. For dinner, we made hamburgers, fries and homemade cookies. We were making use of the stove, air fryer and oven at the same time. It was fun to cook at home and the perfect dinner.
Saturday was an early night after staying up late the night before. I journaled and read for a bit before turning off the lights around 9pm.
Sunday, April 9th, my birthday!! I started the day by going to Starbucks because I had to use the free birthday drink.
[Fun fact: This was only my third free drink since I joined the Starbucks app late in 2020 only because of mobile ordering and the pandemic]
Then we did a nice yoga flow and had a chill morning before heading to my friend’s parents.
I got a cute Easter basket too. The weather was about 10 degrees warmer and the sun felt amazing so we actually sat outside for a few hours before I got back on the road to Binghamton.
I arrived around 5pm and headed to Easter/Birthday dinner. Brian’s cousins birthdays are April 7th and 8th so we have 7, 8, 9 to celebrate.
Post Covid practices, we don’t blow candles out on the cake so we each got a peep with a candle which was cute.
Sunday night, Brian was able to come home for the night so it was nice to spend a little time with him before he left around 7am Monday morning. I took Monday off from work so I didn’t have to rush back. I had a nice morning with a workout and then visiting my old workplace. Learning more and more how life is all about connections and it was good to catch up.
After lunch I got on the road and it was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for driving.
Throughout the week, my birthday celebrations continued. I had a massage Tuesday. I get monthly massages but I missed my March massage because I got sick. It was perfect that I postponed to my birthday week.
Then Wednesday night, I had a lovely dinner with Jen. The weather turned around and felt like we jumped to summer with 80 degree temps so I wore my new Stitch Fix dress to the office and dinner. I love this new dress!! Dinner was so fun and we were able to sit outside. I’ll take all the sunshine!!
After dinner I stopped at Ulta since it was in the same area. When I was paying, I mentioned it was my birthday, asking about the month birthday gift. I couldn’t remember if I was signed up for rewards with Ulta, but they did find my email and gave me the birthday gift and I had points to use that gave me $3 off so that was exciting. I love surprise deals!
After a busy week, I was able to leave a little early on Friday which was such a treat! I took a walk before dinner to enjoy the sunshine. This sunshine and warm weather has made me so happy lately. It’s amazing how much the weather can affect our mood.
Overall, an amazing week. Everyday I’m so grateful for my new job and living in the Philadelphia area again. It truly feels like home to me and I can’t wait for summer activities. I’m thinking paddleboarding, maybe try a class at Philadelphia circus school, and lots of outdoor swimming.
Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special this year and cheers to 33.
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Happiest of birthdays! Love the candle in the Peep. 🙂 Hope it’s a wonderful (odd) year for you.
Thanks so much Anne