40

My last post was about being amazed that Maisy is now four years old. Which leaves me unsure of which adjective to use to describe my feelings about my own fortieth birthday! Actually, amazing works pretty well.

But 40? What? How did this happen?

As "milestone" birthdays go, this was a good one. Perhaps it helps that so many people close to me have a maverick "been there, done that" outlook on 40. Perhaps it also helps that I have a 4-year-old daughter: I haven't had much time to sit around and lament my age! But seriously, turning 40 was a breeze. It was fun!

Beautiful birthday flowers from beautiful friends Alicia, Han and Corey

I got to celebrate multiple times: first on the actual anniversary of my birth, in the Outer Banks with family and friends; next a few weeks later in a relaxed afternoon with many of my San Francisco girlfriends; and finally just last weekend in Seattle with my college girlfriends, celebrating the year we've all turned 40! Hooray for multiple celebrations! 

Cake #1
Duck, NC
July 5, 2014

Cake #2
Baked by Grace!
San Francisco, CA
July 20, 2014

Atop the Space Needle, taking in the view including Mt. Ranier.
Seattle, WA
July 25, 2014

Being in Seattle with my college girlfriends was a special treat. This group of women gets together every year. But I haven't joined since Maisy was born and I was missing something. There is something special about being with longtime friends; we've known each other since we lived on the same wing of our freshman year dorm ("Aurora E is the place to be") in 1992-93. We had an awesome weekend in Seattle: seeing the sights, enjoying some great food, and of course talking, laughing and crying. And, yes, in the photo below we are wearing matching shirts - indeed "Rockin' 40". Matching was actually quite fun; we got a lot of smiles, happy birthdays, and other kind comments (thank you, Katie!).

Corey, Katie, Sara, Lisa, Lori, (me peeking), Rebecca.
Alki Beach, Seattle, WA
July 25, 2014