The Scenic Route: Turning 27

For my birthday this year, my sister and I set out on another adventure. My birthday fell on a Tuesday, so we took my brother to COLLEGE and then headed out for coffee and a penny walk. I read about penny walks YEARS ago on some blog written by some lady in New York City and I fell in love with the idea. Here's the deal: you go for a walk in a safe place and every time you come to an intersection, you declare heads one direction, tails another, flip that penny, and then go the way the penny directed.

I sipped on the last of the iced toasted marshmallow lattes and my sister sipped on a mango jet tea. With penny in hand, we set out to explore a neighborhood that has captivated me ever since we've moved here.

We ran into a very promising geocaching hidey-hole, a stylish creepy guy (at the beginning AND end of our walk), a ton of beautiful houses, and even more beautiful trees. The air was just slightly crisp - as it always is in the first days of fall - and the sun was still shining in full force. I learned that sweet gum trees may just possibly grow here (a HUGE surprise).

We had all morning and it was magnificent. God gave me a sister, you guys. I'm still amazed at what a blessing that is!

After the penny walk, we went for Chinese at our favorite buffet before picking our brother up. We even squeezed in a little time at the beach where we ran into a woman in a bikini. It was far too cold for a bikini. But...I'm always running into older women in bikinis using the sand to give themselves exfoliation treatments by the water's edge. I'll remember her along with all the others. There's a lesson there. I'm sure of it. I kicked my tennis shoes off and rolled up my pants and stood in the water as long as I could. That's my version of bikini exfoliationing.

K...So, I'm breaking the rules with more words in the middle of a scenic route post, but...This is exactly two seconds after ALMOST walking through a cloud of cremation smoke. A noise erupted out of my throat and I couldn't stop my sister fast enough...This is no joking matter. I was totallllly creeped out. Needless to say, we took a picture to text to our Mom. And then we RAN. After I took a few more pictures of course...

That was 27! It was all kinds of special. The theme this year was brown paper packages. And can I tell you something? It's possible to have a special day even when things go wrong. My cards were late, there wasn't any cake, and I spent the evening ALONE before making a late night run for Dominoes and dropping it by the theatre. The morning with my sister, the phone calls and texts, and gifts that did arrive all added up to something pretty great.

I found out later that my Mom was TRYING to plan a surprise party for me since she knew that the rest of them had to be at rehearsal. On the morning of my birthday, one of the people she had asked to help head it up texted saying something about how it just wasn't going to work. THE MORNING OF MY BIRTHDAY. Go ahead, please laugh. I know I will be for YEARS to come. 

The cards finally came, in case you're wondering. And 27 got off to the kind of start that seems fitting for the year ahead. Things are in God's hands and we can trust Him. There is joy right where you are even when things seem beyond pitiful. You never know when a little extra thought and care and TIME can mean so much to someone in your life. But they do. 

And trust me. They do.