Today I turned 30. It’s etched all over my face. No, really. I expected a few wrinkles, but the three giant prom night pimples were a surprise. Was I a fool to believe that the acne would ebb as the wrinkles flowed? I also have a few, um, pigment free hairs.  Even without these sneaky reminders, I knew I reached a milestone when I received as many birthday cards from Dr.’s offices as I did from actual human beings.  My eye doctor wished me a happy birthday and offered to show me the latest in bifocal technology. I was intrigued and slid my contact over to read the tiny print better. Did you know BIFOCAL CONTACTS are a thing?  Then there was the toothy smiley face e-card from the dentist letting me know they knew I would overindulge in cake today and am already overdue for a check-up.  There was a link for dentures included in the e-card.   I was also in the thoughts of a former chiropractor.  His office went all out and offered me a discount. I may clip that coupon and stick it next to my Depends coupon in the ziplock baggy that I keep in my purse. So here I stand, hunched over in squinting, tooth-decaying awe at the birthday wishes from the medical community.

I jest.

Thirty doesn’t bother me.  Today was hard for actual real human reasons.

My mom’s house sold. So today we were boxing up and moving out everything. Background: My dad passed away four years ago and this past year we lost three more beloved people in our family. This season has been a bittersweet mixture of blessings and pain. Today was spent boxing up precious memories and trying not to dwell.

My mom now lives 6 states away but while we still had the tether of her house here for her frequent visits, it didn’t seem so far. And now her house has sold, which is good, but the distance and permanence became so real for me today.

My mom recently remarried and is sweetly loved by a man who recognizes just how incredible she is, and cherishes her as the treasure she is. For this I am so thankful, but I miss her everyday and now I will miss having her house to visit, because even when she wasn’t there, I always felt like she kind of was in every tasteful, funky, cool detail of her home.

I love you forever, mom.

P.S I would like to remind you that you did give us the air mattress today and the firefighter says we do have an air pump for it.

hint hint

Take Luck!!