Today, I turn 32.

Isn't that crazy?

I remember in years past, I'd always make a big deal of my birthday, hinting to people months before the day actually came. I would keep an internal countdown calendar to the big day. I would make sure that something big was planned, some party at a club, a dinner out with friends, or a shindig at my place.

This year, not so much. My birthday has pretty much crept up on me. I really haven't had the time to think about my birthday. With work and Ben in my life, I don't have much time to think of anything else. I'm living day to day now, with no time to think about things like birthdays. Even now, I really don't want to make a big deal of it. Today I'm just going to hang out with Dave and Ben, go to Ben's cousin's birthday party (a carnival at the park!), and just chill out at home. I never thought I'd say this, but this birthday is just another birthday. I've got so much more to think about!

This is the first year that I've actually felt like an adult. I guess with the responsibility of taking care of another human being, you tend to feel older and more mature. I'm at a completedly different place in my life than I was last year, professionally and personally. But I can honestly say that I'm happy with my life. I have a steady job, but more importantly, a husband who loves me and puts up with all my crap, and an adorable baby boy who I can't live without.

Of course, I can't help but reflect on my life as a turn another year older. To date, I've led a good one. I love to reminisce about "the good ol' days", referring to crazy days in college or in highschool. After watching the Lost episode where Charlie goes over the most important moments in his life, I started wondering what my top 5 (or top 10, because how could I just narrow it to 5?) list would be. My horrible memory doesn't really help the matter, so the list really focuses on the last decade or so, but here's a couple that I've come up with so far:

1) Ben's Birth, of course...the most memorable, emotional, crazy, surreal moment I have in my life
2) The day I got married - I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining, we were surrounded by friends and family, we had a kick ass time in the limo, and although everything didn't run perfectly, it felt like it did.
3) The first time I saw Dave - I thought to myself, "What a hottie!" yet, since my friend had a crush on him, only saw him as a hot peice of meat, not as someone I would eventually have a relationship with. Was I wrong!"
4) Sister trip to Florida - Our one and only sister vacation in Orlando. The most memorable moment? Driving on highway 4 in a red Mustang convertible next to some military trucks. We were like Thelma and Louise and some other chick.
5) The last time my mother laughed at me - I was living in California, but had come home to visit my mother in the hospital. I had lost a lot of weight because my client had a sushi restaurant, and I was doing a butt dance for my mom to show her how much smaller it was. She was laughing and shaking her head in that "I can't believe that I gave birth to this fool".
6) Waking up in our new house - it's incredible to wake up and walk around your very own house. You feel so proud of your place and that this place belongs to you.
7) Senior year of college - although my whole college experience would be part of this list, if I had to pick out a year, it would be my senior year. It was full of ups and downs, but it was an awesome time.
8) My Orlando trip with my girls - the first time we were all in Orlando together...pretty interesting times!

....those are all the BIG moments that I can think of right now, but there were a lot of moments that I've had that I consider memorable, but didn't make the list, like...

- When I was on a flight to LA with one of my favorite comic book artists, and although he was in the front of the plane and I was in the back, he actually waited for me to get off the plane so we could talk about stuff. For that, I'll love him forever no matter what happens!

- The wild and wacky trip that is known as "Christine Goes to Salt Lake City" - drama, alcohol, laughter and men in skinsuits and interviews in the hallway...who could ask for more?

- Watching Claudine get married

- Playing air hockey and watching donuts being made at Krispy Kreme with my favorite Olympian

- The first time I performed on stage, acting out a script that I wrote

- Family parties, playing the most inappropriate game ever - "Thrill Kill", all night and screaming like banshees while doing it

- Telling Dave I was pregnant

- The first time Benjamin walked

- Getting a perfect score in a solo contest in 4th grade, I had to play my clarinet in front of a huge audience and I nailed it.

- Dancing with Wesley Snipes at a club

There's a ton others, stuck in my memory somewhere, but these are the ones that come up in my mind when I think of when I look back at my life. These memories, and so much more, make me content with my life. If I were to die tomorrow, I would be OK with it, I wouldn't wail about there being so much more that I have to do. I am happy with the life I've led, the good and the bad. I know that whatever life has in store for me, nothing can change what's happened in the first 32 years.

So, yeah. I'm old!

Posted by Yano at May 27, 2007 12:27 PM

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