25.

i’ve been contemplating this day for a bit now. chris has been reminding me that i’m a 1/4 of a century old and i’ve been constantly rolling my eyes at him (he’s 362 days younger).

but something interesting happens as i get older – the day becomes less important, instead i spend time reflecting on the previous year. as chris and i thought about our birthdays this year, we decided to go along with that theme and instead of having a big party, we escaped.

part of this may be because we are still newly weds, but there certainly is a part of me that prefers quietly going about my birthday doing the things i love, taking it a bit more slowly, and processing all that has happened over the previous year. i’d have to say 24 was an exceptionally HUGE year, but here’s a little recap:

my niece was born
i got engaged
my grandfather passed away
i took up canning
i sat first class on a plane (okay, tiny detail but it was fun.)
chris graduated – RN!
we bought a scooter!
i ran the riverbank again.
i said goodbye to female roommates as i know it.
my best friend got married.
i got married.
a man (husband) moved into my house. now it’s ours.
my other best friend came home from china.
i took two weeks (!) off of work completely.
i travelled internationally for work.
my other best friend got married.
chris & i took our first camping trip together as husband and wife.

so, on this september 17th, i am grateful. chris and i escaped to pictured rocks and had an awesome time hiking, cooking, eating s’mores, celebrating each other’s birthdays with wine in the woods, new sleeping bags, beautiful sunsets, and no access to our phones.