The Sunday list, even though the last few days have been short entries too. I’ll try to do better this week but it’s been a long day of traveling today.

One last day of beautiful, warm weather
Torchy’s tacos, which really are superb
An easy flight, with time for homework
Twinkling views of entire city lights from the airplane window
Yummy homemade pumpkin poppers
Puppies everywhere
Hugs from the crew at home
And…
The awesomeness of my boyfriend

I’m thankful today for warmer than expected weather, for time wandering around Austin, for a delayed Thanksgiving dinner, and for a movie night.

It was the wedding day. And except for a brief fight with some fire ants (they hurt!) everything was beautiful. It was outside amid some fields, the sun was just setting and the weather was still just warm enough to not need a jacket. My boyfriend was the officiant and did a great job finding the perfect script and reading that fit the relationship his sister and her (now) husband have. And the venue was lovely, the food (Texas BBQ) was delicious, and the reception was a lot of fun. It’s always special to witness the love two people have for each other at a wedding, and I’m thankful to have been a part of that today.

It was a long day of traveling, but I’m thankful to have arrived in Texas safely. I’m also thankful for Starbucks, skittles, and Dr. Who along the way.

I took the day off of work since my boyfriend and I are flying out to Texas tomorrow. I needed to get the MUV to the shop for a new battery and run some errands. Of course, here it is and I’m still running around trying to get the last of things done. Why is it that it seems like a lot of time until all of a sudden, it’s disappeared? Our flight is early so we have to leave at about 4 am. Ugh. Not fun for this non-morning person. At any rate, I am thankful that I got the MUV fixed, got the dog sitter directions squared away, got packed and even got a little bit of cleaning done at home. I’m excited to be heading somewhere a little bit warmer and have a chance to spend more time with my boyfriend’s family. His sister is getting married, so there should be lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

So today is my birthday. And for all that I’ve written before about aging gracefully and not giving in to the pressures of society’s standards of beauty, etc., I found myself not looking forward to this day. This is the first birthday I kind of didn’t want to celebrate because it’s the first time I feel old. Older. Like I’m standing on the hill. But it’s really just the number that’s offensive to me. Nothing else about me or my life makes me feel old. Well, ok, besides the fact that I have grown kids and that my boyfriend likes to tease me about our age difference (although I remind him that he’s the one dating an old woman). And I know how the sayings go…age is just a number or you’re only as old as you feel…but I find no solace in those quotes. At some point, the number gets pretty large and I already wake up hurting some days. So I kind of got caught up in the number this year. Fretted a bit about it and worried about whether I’m looking my age. Or acting my age. And then I got over it. Mostly. After all, I’m more of a language gal than a number person. I can’t let a double digit get the best of me. And I really am rather grateful I’m still having birthdays. Plus I’ve got this cool thing happening where I have some awesome people in my life and good things going on. And this birthday reminded me of that. Today I got over 80 birthday wishes on my Facebook page. Maybe that’s not a lot to some, but it was to me. And yeah, Facebook makes it easy to post a message, but it doesn’t make it mandatory. So more than 80 people like me well enough to give a shout out. That was cool. And I got presents and cards at work! Candy and coffee and dessert popcorn, cookies and cards and even sparkly bracelets. Oh! and safety glasses to go with chainsaw my mom is bringing me tomorrow. At home I got breakfast in bed this morning from my girls. And yesterday I got an early present from my boyfriend who made me dinner (yum! I’ll never get tired of that) and then gave me all kinds of goodies for relaxing in his whirlpool tub. Which I did.

So I’m older. And today it felt pretty good. I’m grateful for the people who make my life and me feel special. I’m thankful to be able to forget about the number most of the time and simply look forward to what’s next in life. Like the following poem from Samuel Ullman.

“YOUTH”

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

My Sunday gratefuls:

Morning cuddles
Quiet puppies
Soft rain
Great burgers
Beautiful flowers
Bath time presents
Firefly finale

I didn’t get this posted last night…

I’m thankful for a relaxing day of coffee, brunch, and sitting by the fireplace while binge watching 10 episodes of Firefly, which has been on my tv list for at least a year. It was a really good day.

I’m thankful for a lunch date during which I had really good Pho. For a little warmer weather so the walk to and from my car was bearable. And for a relaxing evening.