So this past weekend I got to combine two of my favorite things.
Sundays and birthdays. As far as my birthday goes, I’m sure it’s unusual for a 30 something to still want to celebrate a birthday. I guess I just consider it my day to try and be “extra”. Yes, I feel like that phrase is already way out of style but let’s face it I’m 30 (+2) and I can’t keep up with what words are IN!
Last year when I turned 31, everything was about quarantining and “social distancing”. So we grabbed carry out from one of the only restaurants that was open and had a picnic in the car at the lake watching people trying to back their boats out of the water at the boat ramp. if you’ve never done this you should definitely give it a shot. It’s like people watching at the mall with a level of suspense. 10/10 - would definitely recommend.
I’m not a huge New Year’s resolution person, but I do like to make goals or have phrases or words for the years of my life. Last year my goal was to “be intentional”. Don’t just do things to do them. Don't just say things to say them. Do them for a reason. Say them because you mean it. Have purpose behind what I did…. And if there wasn’t really a purpose, then don’t do it.
Now I’m not dropping that "be intentional" goal because I have reached a new year. Whoever "they" is says it takes 21 days to make a habit though so if I’ve tried to practice being intentional as much as I could for a year…. obviously I’m planning on keeping this goal/habit around. This year, and I actually started it before my birthday, my word is: connection.
Every now and then I will get to thinking about a person that I haven’t talked to in a while and if I can…. especially on Facebook…. send them a “hey girl” message. This is actually a little amusing for me because MLM cold messaging is such a big thing right now and those “hey girl” messages are hated by almost everyone except the sender. But I'm not reaching out to sell things. I reach out to people who have moved away or who I haven't talked to in months. It’s good to see how they are, where they’re at in life and what they’ve been doing. It has also let me reconnect and stay connected with friends from college who I don’t want to lose but let's face it, sometimes life gets so busy you just forget how much time has actually passed!
My word connection does not just apply to these fun little “hey girl“ messages. It’s applies to family too. My husband, my kids, parents and siblings. I’m excited to be back being able to go places in 2021 and since our kids are getting older it will be even more fun. More time on the boat with all of us, more camping, hiking and day trips. There’s even a short girls trip with my sisters happening this year which is such a big deal for me since half of us are scattered across the country (have fun meshing those schedules)!
I had a few moments of sadness of my birthday I can’t lie. Several things that are too deep for a peppy, celebratory blog post like this. But I had a wonderful day! I got a third Cracker Barrel rocking chair for my porch (so I can act like I’m 82), Popi’s carry out for dinner (it would have been dine in but the allergies hit our oldest pretty hard Sunday afternoon so we decided to stay home.
As always I have big expectations for this year and I’m glad to have a dandy crew to take it on with!
Happy Thursday y’all!
Family photos by my friend and fellow photographer Justine Klope Photography
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