364 days until i need a whole box of candles

i was thinking today about birthdays, for a few reasons: one being that my birthday just passed, and two being that it was a particularly memorable one, maybe the most memorable one for me so far...

and i'm like anyone else with birthdays, i can get pretty selfish. i want a celebration, and i want presents. i'm being honest. admit it, you're like that too. everyone is.

and this year, the day after my birthday, i took a few steps back and i thought "wow, i know a lot of really great people." i can't explain the gratitude i have for the past week of my life. for my surprise party at school, for my friends at home all planning a surprise, for the extreme amount of phone calls and emails i received on sunday, for the gifts and cards i received...

and in taking few steps back i felt ashamed for expecting so much on my birthday... you know? i wanted that party, i half-expected all of those phone calls... in fact, i would have been upset if i didn't get them.

there's nothing right about that.

and so today, 364 days until i use up an entire box of candles, the day after my 23rd birthday, my first day without medical insurance, 2 1/2 weeks from graduating college, 3 days after a serious car accident, i've realized, through the awe of the people who made this past week unbelievable for me, that i should really stop expecting things like this. i'm so lucky to have them.

my dad actually said this phrase to me in the car yesterday,

"You are my life."

seems kinda right out of a hallmark movie or something, doesn't it? i mean, i really have that. my dad actually said that. i told anne today, and she told me "you're so lucky to have such a great dad." i said, "yeah, i know" and that's when i started to think...

who could really ask for anything else? what else could you even need?

so, in my first post as a 23 year old, thank you to everyone who made my birthday, and way beyond my birthday, my time here, my life, every moment, great.