Welcome to my first blog post as a 22-year-old! I sound older and wiser already, don’t I? Didn’t think so.
Number 22 was an amazing birthday – one of the best I can remember, and that’s saying something! I was talking to Kacey at work about how we could both remember some specific birthdays and what year it was, but not all of them, and it got me trying to recall as many of my past birthdays as I could…
21 – It’s hard to believe this was a year ago! Abby and I worked together in Manteo that morning, then went to Poor Richard’s for my first legal beer in the U
nited States. It was insanely hot and humid out, even for the Outer Banks, and I remember being disgustingly sweaty (can you tell from the picture?). I spent the afternoon sailing on the sound with Abby, Paul, Susannah, Townes, Sara, and Chris – Sara had gotten engaged four days earlier, on her 24th birthday, and asked me to be her maid of honor that day! Abby and I were so tired from our early shifts and afternoon in the sun that we went out for one drink at the Brewing Station that night, and crashed by 10pm.
20 – My first birthday on the Outer Banks! A couple days earlier, Sara and I went parasailing on the day between our birthdays! It was pretty cool to see the Banks from 1200 feet in the air! Sara thought she was slipping out of her harness and I almost lost my car keys in the sound, but it all worked out in the end. Then, on my actual birthday, my mom was visiting! We walked around the waterfront in Manteo that morning, and then she, Abby, and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in theaters. I remember not being thrilled about turning 20 and being nostalgic about my teenage years, and Abby telling me, “Yeah, I remember being 20. Nobody listens to you when you’re 20.” Love my roomie. This was a really fun day, but I didn’t care so much that it was my birthday or about how old I was.
19 – No idea. Not a clue what I was doing. I would guess that I was at the lake with my family, but I’m not sure. For some reason, I don’t have a single picture from this entire summer.
18 – This was the summer right after I graduated high school. Again, I can’t remember anything specific that happened, but my awesome brother made me this awesome cake!
Before that, specific birthdays are a blur… I know that when I turned 16, my friends threw me an awesome totally surprise Sweet Sixteen party and my parents got me an iPod. On my 12th birthday, I was in class with my dad for my scuba certification (this was sneaky because you’re technically supposed to be at least 12 before you start certification). Our instructor, Brian, totally faked me out and had me completely believing that he forgot it was my birthday, until he pulled out the TV cabinet to show an instructional video and opened it to reveal an amazing chocolate birthday cake that he made himself! When I turned 8, we were at Lake Piseco with my dad’s side of the family and Susannah took me wakeboarding! I’ve had some good birthdays in my day.
Anyway, back to 22! I worked from 9:30am-5:30pm, but surprisingly, I loved it! The fun thing about working on your birthday is that everyone finds out it’s your birthday without you having to actually tell anyone. The moment I walked into the shop, Paul slapped this piece of masking tape on me:
So, of course, people were asking me about my birthday all day. I even met a few birthday buddies, including my favorite little dude Bowen (a.k.a. baby Ron Weasley), who turned 2. It was an outpouring of love and birthday goodies the likes of which I had never imagined! Suz made me an incredible cake, Townes made me a wonderful card that said “Happy Birthday I love you Julye,” Rose brought me lunch, and Kacey brought me a birthday hat fit for the Great Hall. I also made some $$$uper tips! It was a fun day spent with some of my favorite people – and the evening was just the same!
We had a family dinner out at Roadside in Duck, following an outdoor concert by Susannah’s incredibly talented guitar teacher. Dinner was YUMMY, and the ambience was provided by Andy (our kiln wizard), whose duo was playing on the patio and who sang me many inappropriate love songs and told everyone I was turning 52. Our evening concluded with the waiter bringing me a complementary slice of chocolate ganache, which Townes promptly demolished. Afterwards, Sarah and I headed to Chilli Peppers to round out the evening, and I finally ended up crashing into bed. Going to sleep after an amazing day is almost as satisfying as an amazing day itself!
I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people here. Happy birthday to all my birthday buddies, and a very merry unbirthday to everyone else!
Oh, and possible the most awesome event of my birthday?
THANKS MOM AND DAD!!! I hear angels singing just looking at this picture. My memory card is currently en route from my closet at home, but prepare for the photography on my blog to improve drastically in weeks to come!
