I am back from my trip to Sweet Briar. Refreshed and ready for the rest of life. Summary? 

I was beyond thrilled to have been a part of Dean's proposal to Rachel. I've been watching her glow through the gchat screen for so long as she's fallen in love with him, that finally getting to see that glow in person - and not just the normal, everyday glow of love but the magical essence that she radiated - was beautiful. And on top of that, we got to spend the weekend at Sweet Briar. If that's not a perfect way to start off your life together, I don't know what is. 

I sat on the back patio of Prothro eating an under-toasted bagel, trying to keep warm with a mint tea. This - I admit it - made me tear up. I think I probably would have broken down in sobs if Rachel hadn't joined me. And that was even better. Sitting there, quietly with someone who didn't feel like they needed to say anything but just...be there, soaking up the beautiful sunny day. The little girl frolicking through the field (her arms!) had to be a metaphor for something, but I'm not sure what. Either way, I wasn't ready to leave Sweet Briar on my graduation day and I certainly wasn't ready to leave by Sunday afternoon. But somehow I managed to break away. But not without filming a walking tour of campus. I've got it all on film - train station to front gate. 

I am incredibly lucky to have friends in all corners of this country to love. And even more lucky that when I got back to Portland, it felt right. DC never was my city. The people I love really seem to enjoy it, but Portland is more me. Perhaps in a perfect world somehow all these people of mine would live closer together... but then, maybe, we'd get tired of each other and it wouldn't be so perfect after all. I'm happy to home to a summer full of river floats, bbq's, and baby showers...and look forward to the next wedding, reunion, or vacation.

And now? I'm back, refreshed and thankful for the (pretty kickass) life I've got going here. Also - a shower. You can never have too many of those. 

Today is the day. That day in my life when I realized that even though I've thought 40 was old for more than half of it, I realize it... isn't. And that, in itself, is a sign that I'm old! It's like my birthday got delayed a month. Cue life reflections.

At the inter-departmental meeting today I found out we're installing bat boxes. They weren't going to mention it except they needed to borrow a lift. I work at a place where they came up with the idea to keep the bugs at bay by installing bat boxes without me having to drag them away from sprays. So, I whine about how bad our communication can be at times, but that was a nice touch. 

The past few weeks I've been saying that Tuesday is the new Monday. And today, Wednesday, might just be giving Tuesday a run for its money. Despite everything being stacked against it, a lovely birthday overall. My voice has been giving out because of my post-nasal allergy disaster of a situation, so I didn't get to chat with everyone who called (sorry Chris. I'll call back tomorrow, promise!) but it was fun to hear from everyone. And my day off from work was productive and put to good use. Five loads of laundry, a clean kitchen, a clean bedroom, and a bit of weeding during the two hours of sun we got. Not bad, not bad at all. 

Lovely presents, cards, flowers, texts, tweets (direct from Phi Beta Kappa themselves!), and messages made it a special day. I think there will be more journaling in my future. Some public, some private. But I think that'll be one of my birthday resolutions (since I'm doing so well on my new year's resolutions!)

I knew the moment would come when I would have to tell Henry, the 2-year old next door, there is no bird to see. It went well. Turns out, rugs are a descent distraction. Bonus: I didn't accidentally introduce the concept of death to a small human!