Last week I had my 30th birthday. I had made plans to leave my little town to avoid acknowledgement of this 'milestone birthday', but as they say 'the best layed plans of mice and men, oft go aft agley.' So last week, I celebrated my 30th birthday and it was the best birthday of my life.
I didn't go sky diving or riding on the backs of whales. I didn't go to the Wirikuta Fest in Mexico City to protest/fund raise against the land concessions for foreign mining companies of sacred tribal lands. I didn't go to Puerto Vallarta to feel the charge of the bustling Pacific Coast paradise, or the anonymity that I sometimes miss.
Instead, I woke up at 6am and went bird watching with my birding class to the beach of my little town, and in the heights of its historic fort. I saw the dawn of my 30th birthday, while marveling at some of God's most beautiful little creatures, in one of God's most beautiful places. Then I went out for a two hour breakfast at 12pm with my best San Blas friend, followed by a mid afternoon lunch with my volunteer friends and host-family. We ate, we imbibed, we chatted, and we sang into the night. All in all, it was a lovely day with people that I love, in a country that I love, where I'm doing things that I love.
My time in Mexico is finite. I do a little mental math and figure I only have five more months left. It's time to start using up all my hotel soap. In typical American fashion, I have a rough/precise idea of what the next 6-8 months will look like, but one of my life lessons has been to enjoy the present. I pray that I can wake up for the next five months, and enjoy every new, muggy San Blas morning, enjoy the freshest produce and fish at the tip of my fingers, and accept impromptu invitations to family gatherings--even if I happen to be in sweaty gym clothes...after all, my time in Mexico is finite.
I still have a tremendous sense of getting propelled into a destiny, into a time and into a place. I came here with the belief that something unimaginable and good is going to happen to me. I often think to myself, 'is this the epiphany I've been waiting for'? In my search, I've discovered some amazing things. I've shared my life with people. That's risky, because no one wants to get hurt, but it's most rewarding as well--to love & be loved, and to remember & be remembered. To laugh, to love, and make memories with people. To have discovered I have special gifts, and I might even say a super power.
I didn't go sky diving or riding on the backs of whales. I didn't go to the Wirikuta Fest in Mexico City to protest/fund raise against the land concessions for foreign mining companies of sacred tribal lands. I didn't go to Puerto Vallarta to feel the charge of the bustling Pacific Coast paradise, or the anonymity that I sometimes miss.
Instead, I woke up at 6am and went bird watching with my birding class to the beach of my little town, and in the heights of its historic fort. I saw the dawn of my 30th birthday, while marveling at some of God's most beautiful little creatures, in one of God's most beautiful places. Then I went out for a two hour breakfast at 12pm with my best San Blas friend, followed by a mid afternoon lunch with my volunteer friends and host-family. We ate, we imbibed, we chatted, and we sang into the night. All in all, it was a lovely day with people that I love, in a country that I love, where I'm doing things that I love.My time in Mexico is finite. I do a little mental math and figure I only have five more months left. It's time to start using up all my hotel soap. In typical American fashion, I have a rough/precise idea of what the next 6-8 months will look like, but one of my life lessons has been to enjoy the present. I pray that I can wake up for the next five months, and enjoy every new, muggy San Blas morning, enjoy the freshest produce and fish at the tip of my fingers, and accept impromptu invitations to family gatherings--even if I happen to be in sweaty gym clothes...after all, my time in Mexico is finite.
I still have a tremendous sense of getting propelled into a destiny, into a time and into a place. I came here with the belief that something unimaginable and good is going to happen to me. I often think to myself, 'is this the epiphany I've been waiting for'? In my search, I've discovered some amazing things. I've shared my life with people. That's risky, because no one wants to get hurt, but it's most rewarding as well--to love & be loved, and to remember & be remembered. To laugh, to love, and make memories with people. To have discovered I have special gifts, and I might even say a super power.
Happy birthday Betty! I'm glad you had a good time! It was a lot of fun.
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