Another Year Older

     Happy Birthday to AK who turns 30 today! It's hard to believe we're fast approaching a new age bracket and that some of our friends are already there. I still feel like I'm 21 living an adult life. I figure someone's bound to notice we're just a bunch of kids playing house... right? It used to be that we'd get various but strong reactions whenever we told people we were married at 22 and owned a house when we were 23. It was always impressive to hear that hubby was a plant manager when he was 25. Now we're slowly entering that phase of life where all the things we're doing (married, homeowners, parents) is perfectly normal if not to be expected. And while we may have started these things earlier than our friends, it won't be long before they're all caught up. The only difference is that we'll have been married longer. We waited 5 years to have a baby but once they all get married, I'm sure they'll be having babies shortly thereafter. It feels like we were all just in university, trying to make it through.

    On another birthday note, my dad will be turning 54 on Thursday. This is also jarring to me because in my mind, my parents will always be in their 40s. I have a clear vision in my head of what they look like, too. My dad will always have a belly, even though today he goes to the gym three times a week and I don't think you could find an inch of fat on him if you tried. I can even still smell the perfume my mom wore to work and the green and black checked blazer that was my favorite of hers.

     A new year, more birthdays. Everyone is getting older! My sister, Malt_Soda, and my brother-in-law (BIL) and Jelly Bean are moving away for 6 months. You might recall that Jelly Bean is only 5 weeks older than Jr. It makes me sad to think we'll miss Jelly Bean getting older. 6 months makes a big difference when they're so young! The next time we'll see them will be for Jelly Bean's first birthday in a month. One year! I can still remember holding her in my arms when she was teeny tiny. I'm glad we could have a farewell dinner and a birthday dinner for my dad before they leave this week.

     Happy New Year, readers! Here's to another year and getting older!