26

Last night I read half a fluffy novel of the historical romance persuasion and then fell asleep for a full eight hours. I woke up to JP and Landon serenading me with "The Wheels on the Bus." Apparently they were going to open with the more traditional "Happy Birthday" but when JP practiced it Landon just sat and stared at him like he had never heard singing before, but when you sing "Wheels on the Bus" he immediately starts dancing in circles with a euphoric smile on his face, so Wheels on the Bus it was. It was an excellent performance that ended with several family hugs, which now fall right after buses as Landon's favorite thing. JP and I hug a lot (I just fit very well against his chest and have a hard time not leaning against him when I walk by, a 7" height difference is perfect) and I've been trying to get Landon to enjoy the family hug moments but he always pulls away because he is so busy and there are so many buses to be identified. But this weekend he got on board and now whenever one of us is holding him, he'll hold out his arms for the other and we'll all squeeze and Landon laughs belly laughs and then leans in again for another. It's probably a bit nauseating to watch from the outside, but it's a fabulous way to kill 10 minutes on a Wednesday morning.

So the day has started out wonderfully. I'm wearing my very favorite pair of shoes, my new secretary made 7-layer bars and a red velvet cake, and JP is picking up a Costco pizza to eat during the Top Chef finale. I'm still insanely busy, but I'm very happy- I realize that might not have come through in the last post, but I meant to comment purely on the craziness, not imply that I'm unhappy about it. I leave work each day feeling good, productive, competent, and part of a team. The beginning of this week was unusually rough because over the weekend I worked every second Landon was asleep, played with him every second he was awake (oh my God he is so fun right now), showed up for work on Monday feeling like it was at least a Thursday and proceeded to work even harder. But it's all good - and today I made time for the preparing of the tea, which I am sipping as I type.

[5 hour break for busyness and a delicious platter of Hyde Park french fries]

I feel this birthday more than I've felt my past few. I'm not sure I can explain this well, but when I turned 24 and 25 I was pregnant and a new mom and already felt quite a bit older than those respective ages. When I meet people with Landon, especially people who know I'm a lawyer, they're always shocked at how young I am. Twenty-four may not be an unusual age to start a family, especially not in the South, but it becomes more so when you are a career-minded woman with a graduate degree. When I turned 25 it didn't matter much because I'd already thought of myself as at least 25 for a while- I was actually a little surprised I'd been only 24 up until that day. But this year I never thought of myself as 26 until now- and it's a perfectly lovely age and I don't feel OLD or anything, but for the first time I'm a little surprised to find myself a year older. It feels good- like my maturity, life plan, and birth date are all in accord. I'm looking forward to year 27 of my life. I'm not planning any big changes or milestones, just lots of time spent with my boys, my extended family, and my friends, lots of trips to the park and walks with the dogs, and learning as much and working as hard as I can while still spending that time with my little family. I'm not sure where I thought I'd be at 26, but I don't think I could be happier with where I ended up.