A Golden Year, For Sure

Every year when my birthday rolls around, I find myself thinking a lot about some of my biggest blessings. This year has shown me a lot about how lucky and truly blessed I am.

This year I have been able to spend a lot of my time with my two greatest friends, Tori and Crystal.

Living together has been a pretty unique opportunity because we can do things that are so simple and normal (like cooking dinner) side-by-side and it still feels like we’re hanging out. These two have taught me a lot about myself and new ways to look at things. But most importantly, they’ve loved me a whole heck of a lot. There is not a moment that I can say I’ve looked back and felt otherwise from either of them and I cannot even express the amount of gratitude I have for that. Their random acts of kindness and (sometimes cruel) pranks are constant reminders to me of how amazing, creative, and kind they both are. When I think about the past two and a half years, the majority of it contains them and I can honestly say that I don’t think the years would have been even half as great without them nor would I want to take back or redo any moment spent with them. I don’t think I can express enough how thankful I am for them and I've broken the daily limit on their sappy scale, so I'll just leave it at this...

This year has also been amazing for me academically. This semester I am required to obtain a practicum site (internship) and put in 100 hours at the site and I have landed an amazing opportunity and been officially hired as of Thursday at Excelsior Youth Center where I will be working as something comparable to a life-coach or night watch person (depending on the shift). I am very, very excited for this opportunity because this is the field and age range that I would like to work in when I am done with school and it is going to not only give me experience, but also I will be able to feel out if this is the right fit for me. Another great part of the job is that I am going to be getting paid for it! That is something that was a shocker for me, because most of the sites are volunteer-based. I will also be able to keep the job after the semester is over if it is something that I am happy with! I am starting to feel really confident in the steps I'm taking on my undergraduate pathway and that feeling is absolutely amazing.

Last weekend, Marcus and my parents came to visit for my birthday. Originally Chrissy and Lucas were coming as well, but Lucas got sick the night before they were supposed to leave, so they had to stay behind. I really miss the Orting Senf Clan while I'm over here in Spokane. I miss being able to walk downstairs and pick someone up and hold them upside down (I don't think any of my housemates would appreciate that the way Marcus or Lucas do...), I miss staying up and watching movies with Chrissy, and I miss just being with my family in general. Whenever my parents visit, it is very bittersweet for me; I love every second that I get to spend with them, but the time seems to fly. When I see them after it's been a while, I am reminded of their amazingness. They are both so, so supportive of me in a way that doesn't just suggest that they're giving me a thumbs up from around the corner— they're standing right there with me all along the way. 

My mom is one of the most tolerant people I know. I have this habit of getting frustrated really easily sometimes and something that I've noticed about her lately is that in these moments, even if I'm being snappy with her, she turns the dynamic around and tries to fix whatever is making me feel grumpy. It takes a big and incredibly selfless person to ignore the fact that someone is treating you poorly, and instead try to figure out how to help the grumpy bear. There was a time once that I was making a quilt and one of the edges was not cooperating, so naturally my dynamic turned into a rage of open threats to said quilt (i.e.: "I'm going to light you on fire"). After I got frustrated enough, I gave up. Shortly after, she came upstairs and picked it up and started helping me fix the problem. In the moment, I felt like a jerk I realized that this frustration is something that I need work on, but her grace is what has taught me that. She is a woman who is full of kindness, love, and grace and I can't even tell her enough how thankful I am for her.

My dad is pretty cool too; he is a quiet observer, but is also great to converse with. I love that he is someone that I can go to when I'm in a pickle and need to consult with someone from a logical standpoint. He is also a subtly sweet guy. A month or so ago, I needed to change my headlight, but couldn't figure out how, so I left him a voicemail asking if he had any pointers on what I should be doing and shortly after got an email from him where he had posted a link to a YouTube how-to video. I actually have no clue how he found that, because I had already spent quite a while browsing YouTube for an instructional video. He's a man who is someone that you can count on to love you unconditionally, but also occasionally goes above and beyond and does/says unexpected things to reaffirm that. I am so fortunate to have grown up with a dad who's felt more like a buddy to me throughout the years.

The reason I am getting all sappy about my parents in this post is because today is my birthday, but quite frankly, this day is all their doing. They are two amazing human beings who demonstrate what true love should look like and who have given me more love than I often feel like I deserve. They put me before themselves too often than they should and hope they understand how absolutely amazed by them I am and honored to be their daughter. I've always been bummed about aging and how it changes the dynamic between my parents and me, but at this point, I can only see our relationship getting more awesome each year. Thank you Mom and Dad for your continuous love and encouragement for growth—you are the best!

Today, I will be attempting to make strawberry daiquiris and spending time with friends (after completing a couple of homework assignments and going to the DMV).
Thank you for checking in on me via this post, your support is amazing.

-A