Swimming With My Clothes On: Happy Birthday..... TO ME!!!!

It was soooo freakkking cool to celebrate my birthday in Rome!!!!!!!!! WOWZA. And I'm now officially a twenty-hewhoshallnotbenamed year old. I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. Okay okay, I'm kidding, but trust me. OLD. (okay, you got me. 24. GAH).

We dedicated the day to the colosseum. And there was a marathon. The city was so alive. Basically, it was perfect.

Since we were in Italy, and pretty much every day of the trip felt like my birthday, I wasn't really expecting to feel any different on the actual day. Not that it wouldn't be special, it's just that everything had been so amazing. I didn't see how it could get any better. But, to my surprise, I had the berfday juices flowing through my body good. I was feeling it.

Let me tell you a little story about me and this most awesome of awesome days. Bringing you back to 2005, and my freshman year of college. So it's my birthday, and I'm walking down the street, minding my own happy business. It's clear, blue skies, but it had been raining and there's water everywhere. Puddles to watch out for and such. Along comes a truck, a big one, around the corner just as I'm walking past. The driver flies through a giant puddle, splashing me from head to toe in mud. Normally at this stage in life I would have freaked and totally gotten upset because said driver totally ruined my clothes and gosh, what a totally terrible day. Sigh. Instead, I shrugged with a grin and said (out loud and to no one) Welp, it's my birthday, and just kept on walking and kept on smiling like nobody's business. It was me-- in public, covered in mud, having a happy, happy day.

I've felt like this without fail once a year for as long as I can remember.

On this one special day it's really all about the attitude. No matter what happens, I'm having a good time. Ultimate goal: to maintain my birthday mentality 365 days a year.

So you see, for me it's kind of a big deal. But I wasn't expecting it this year, because I thought Italy couldn't get any better. Let me tell you dear friends, on this one day, it did. Awesome.