It’s no secret that I am now one step closer to the big Three-Oh. As I’ve approached it slowly over the previous years, 30 looks like it’s not that ancient anymore. I don’t feel much different, though I have been yanking out a few gray hairs here and there . . .
Since Jack has been in school (and before that, I was in school), our celebrations are usually curtailed by semester-ending tests and projects. Heck, last year he wasn’t even here! Not that he skipped out on me–he was out-of-town on an internship and I was over nine months pregnant, otherwise I would have considered spending the afternoon with him. Long story short, some family friends took me in and helped me celebrate.
My birthday appears on a Tuesday this year, not exactly prime celebrating time, but Jack was well prepared beforehand. He took me on a Friday night date that kept me feeling young at heart.
As he likes to do, he didn’t tell me what we were doing until we arrived at the ISU campus. There were dozens of activities in the Memorial Union with hundreds of college kids scurrying about. We started out at a soup fundraiser but in my typical nature, were too late so we missed out on getting a handmade ceramic bowl by just a few minutes. Bummer. So we wandered over to the art show to see if there was anything worth buying. Pieces were either less than a dollar or over our price range so we graciously passed.
We imagined the carriage ride to be a romantic trip around the campus in a luxurious landau . It actually turned out to be a horse drawn hay rack ride. The hay wagon was stuffed full of people and whoever was sharing our seat were bale hogs. Still, I was excited to go and happily waited in the bitter cold for twenty minutes until it was turn. And thank goodness Jack brought a blanket and there was free, ridiculously sugary hot chocolate.
Before retuning home, we decided to visit the Farm House Museum. It was the original house on the property when the university was created and, if anyone would appreciate it, it would be us. It has been beautifully preserved and decorated, creepy baby dolls and all.
The evening was certainly memorable. I love the atmosphere and the fact that people commonly mistake me as a student while visiting. That’s a pretty good present too.
2 Responses
Ha ha! Reid (almost 3) said, "Wow, that's scary!" Too funny. Happy Birthday, again. ๐
Ha! Thanks Maggie. And yes, the dolls startled me a bit too. The house was dimly lit to show how dark it was with candles and with those dolls watching me, I had plenty of goosebumps!
(Or was he refering to me being almost 30? ๐ ).