Island fun

As some of you know I am vacationing in the Philippines. For me it is a time to hang out with my family and most importantly get back in touch with my Filipino roots. That may sound silly to some but to me it is actually quite important. As I stepped off the plane from a very long flight- around 14 hours to be exact, I just felt a wave of happiness come over me. Happy to be on vacation, happy to be with Greg and my mom, happy to spend endless hours on the beautiful beaches of the Philippines and of course VERY happy to spend time with my grandparents.

I wish I had lots of time to write about my grandparents right now but in an internet cafe where lots of people wait in line to use the internet I don't have much time, at least not until I get back home. I am going to leave you all with this- my grandparents are everything to me and they make me smile when I think about all the memories we have here and in the states. My grandpa has Alzheimer's and this may be the last time I get to spend quality time with him. I am making the most of it...

The best thing on my trip so far is not the beach, but the time I got to spend with my grandpa this morning- just him, Greg and me- we were laughing. He loves to laugh and I definitely get that from him!

I will hopefully get to write a little more but I wanted to put this down in writing so you all could see what an amazing time we are having so far- family time.
 And the tanning ain't so bad either!!

July 10

Today is the day I am going to talk about Mama Smith. Since today is my actual birthday, the one true person that should be celebrating it is my mom. It is no easy feat ( from what I hear) to give birth to a baby. In fact, it has been compared to having to pass a kidney stone ( which is more painful than childbirth- but stay with me). And then all the diapers, clothing, food, love, wisdom, MONEY, etc, that goes into raising a child. Sheesh! At any rate, it is not an easy thing to raise a child in the world, yet Mama Smith did it and did it well.

Many years ago, I can't remember when, I read an article in some women's magazine about a woman who had a great relationship with her mom. Every year on her birthday, she would send her mom a  sort of birthday/thank- you- for- giving- birth- to- me gift. I decided to borrow that idea and follow her lead. Every year, on July 10, I send my mom a birthday gift. That gift is always accompanied with a heartfelt card. The back story which I haven't told yet is this: my father passed away when I was nine, and it has been just my mom and I since then. She has given me everything and made me who I am today. Without getting mushy, I am truly blessed.

So, today on my birthday I am giving thanks to my mom. You are a beautiful, smart , funny and so many more adjectives could describe you which won't fit on the page woman. I am lucky to have you as my mom and role model to be a good daughter/wife/human being.

I love you Mama!!

Another year older, another year...

On the afternoon,  on the eve of what will be my 33rd year of existence, I am thinking of this cliche that is my header. They say that another year older is another year wiser. That may be true, but let's sit and think about this for a moment. To me, wisdom doesn't come from someone in their 30's. Wisdom should be coming from someone in their 60's or at least someone who has gray hairs- which at this sitting, I could be a part of that "wise" group as made evident by the couple of white hairs that have been making their home on my 32 year old scalp for the past few months.  Even as I tried to pluck them out, those rascally hairs would not go away, and instead made me believe in the old wives tale of " for every white hair you pull out, three more grow in it's place". You have convinced me, ye old wives.

As I "celebrate" my aging, which at this age is not really "old", I am trying to gracefully accept that I am "officially" in my 30's. Which really is a great, yet odd place to be. I am reminded though of how life changes once you hit your 30's. It is almost like your body takes notice the day you hit 31 and decides you will need to start watching your diet, exercising MUCH, much more,  letting bygones be bygones and letting your 20's be a  thing of the past. What a system shock! But alas, you have 10 years of getting used to this new lifestyle. "Officially" living in your 30's.

Tomorrow I turn 33. My mom says it is a magical birthday year. She has never said anything like that on my past birthdays. It makes me wonder if 33 was her magical year. That some life changing event happened to make her believe in 33 being "magical". Or that she wants me to know that unicorns and fluffy clouds will be flying over my head tomorrow. Or just the simple fact that she believes that something great is going to happen for me this year. I love my mom for her spontaneous belief in the unknown. Whatever this year brings, I am ready for it- magical or not and am looking forward to adding another "notch" to my decade of 30's.

Ready or not, here I come 33!