a lucky girl {on turning 30}

{Warning: This is a long one with rambling thoughts. But you only turn 30 once, right?}

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I woke up in a frenzied state, somehow aware that I shouldn’t still be asleep. I looked at the clock to confirm this.

7:45 AM! Oh no! Hub, we overslept! Get up!

Oh did we?, he says calmly. Well then I guess it’s a good thing I took the day off of work for your birthday. (He smirks.)

Wow. Wow. Not expecting that. I start to relax again and let it sink in what a wonderful, loving, caring husband I have. To honor my 30th birthday in such a way. To create a light-hearted day full of special memories and laughter and just being together. It was amazing. So I’m feeling like one very lucky girl. Very blessed. I have the best hubby in the whole wide world. Sorry folks. But I just do.

He first took me to Caribou for coffee. Where I got my free birthday drink from them…a LARGE skim mocha. (It was free so I had to go all out, you know?) Yum. I hardly ever get these anymore. I used to get mochas all the time when I worked in the “corporate world” and there was a Caribou in the skyway level of my office building. I have this very distinct memory of one day when I was working there, fresh out of college, about 22 or 23. I was in the elevator with a co-worker as we were both heading out to take our lunch breaks. She had her workout bag slung over her shoulder with a tightly rolled up Yoga mat sticking out and she said to me “Once you hit 30, everything changes!” I don’t know why she said this? I don’t recall soliciting this warning. But I guess she was talking about how much harder you need to work at keeping in shape? I clearly remember thinking then as we parted ways, “Well thank goodness 30 is sooo far off. It will be a long, long, long time before I need to worry about any of that!” And off I headed to pick up my rich, chocolate-y mocha without another thought. Yet for some reason her comment and that seemingly mundane moment from my past stuck with me, hanging in the recesses of my brain. Why can’t I remember important things? And why does it seem like that was only yesterday and now 30 is here?

But I really loved turning 30. It was quite possibly one of my best birthdays to date, only closely rivaling that of the one spent in Kauai when I turned 27...see?{Kauai ~ 2006}

After we got our coffees, we came home and Hub brought out a BIG blue plastic storage bin. He gave me a sweet card that said something about how for my 30th birthday he got me 30 presents…some little, some silly, some as reminders of our fun times together.
What?! 30 presents!?!, I questioned him.
He confessed it was a little difficult getting to 30 and that he was going to add a kiss as one of the presents but that he did get to 30. So I still took the kiss for good measure.

{my very own hot pink, sparkly-tailed fishing lure}

His way of distributing the gifts was quite clever too. He had typed up all sorts of riddles corresponding to each gift. I had to draw a riddle out of an envelope and then he would give me the correct gift. I tried to guess what the gift could be from the riddle but most had me confused. This is my favorite riddle, which I just so happened to draw last:{Light bulbs...the clue: Every morning when I wake up you just ---- up my day instantly.}

And this one was a sweet idea too:

{A garden journal...the clue: I love watching things grow with you. But, what did we plant in that pot two summers ago?}

After all the "present" fun, we had a great rest of the day together. Enjoying the sunny weather. Walking to the creek. Going as far as the water-drenched land would allow us. Making it to the little wooden bridge and sitting there a bit. Listening to the ripple of flowing water and letting the sun soak into us, warming our bodies and lifting our spirits even further.

{The creek ~ last summer}

We had some absolutely fabulous food out too and he even took me (as one of my 30 gifts) to buy THE perfect stool for my drawing table. I finally came upon the one last week and so we went to look at it together and he loved it too. (A photo to come once we reupholster the seat!)

With everything Hub did, it reminds me how marriage (and relationships in general) take effort. These things, not so much the gifts although those are WONDERFUL, but more so all the thought and effort he put into the day, were like adding vital nutrients to soil of our marriage. (Sorry, but I’ve got a landscaping/gardening project on the brain.) And in difficult times or even just the dull, routine times, it’s so important to have these amazing memories to think back on, a rich source for our marriage, adding to the foundation and helping to nourish it.

See, I do have the best hubby, don’t I? ;)

(By the way, now he’s really set the bar high for his birthday.)
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P.S. Thank you, family & friends, for all the lovely cards, flowers, and birthday song serenades on the voicemail. Loved hearing your sweet voices. Loved seeing your cards, especially the drawings from my little nieces...they so warmed my heart. You guys are pretty wonderful too! :)