The Last Challenge
So, I know I promised this a while ago but what can I say…my
first couple of weeks of 30 have been really busy! It’s probably a fairly
natural response, whenever you hit a milestone in life, to reflect on your
life. I’m no different but I’ll spare you ALL of the thoughts that went through
my head on my birthday. Rest assured, some of them were pretty crazyJ.
And some of them made me a bit weepy…in a good way. I’ve been a very lucky
girl...well, woman. I guess since I’m 30 I should start calling myself that
even if it sounds weird to me. I was already sure of what I’d be doing today to
meet the challenge but first I’m going to let you in on how I got to this
decision.
I was able to take half of the day off of work and get a
facial…you know, so I could look younger than 30. It should have worked because
the lady thought I was only about 26 BEFORE she did my facial. And then I spent
the evening with some great friends enjoying some delicious steaks, drinks and
my absolute favorite DQ ice cream cake. They’ve gone through great lengths in
the past to get me one of these on my birthday, so I’m glad it was fairly easy
this time around. I’m pretty lucky to have friends that are willing to find a
DQ between Salida, CO and Denver, CO to
buy an ice cream cake (even if it was half melted in a rental car trunk by the
time they got to Denver) and make sure that I was unaware they were getting it
(that’s how it went last year).
When I showed up for dinner at my friends’ house, I told
them I had been a bit weepy that afternoon and didn’t really know why…so I blamed
it on the alcohol I’d already had… Well, that’s not entirely true. For some
reason, this 30 day challenge has really made me reflect on how lucky I’ve
been. I’ve met some really incredible people and gotten to have some really
amazing experiences in my life. And, I’m lucky enough to know that I have a
strong and supportive network of family and friends literally spread across the
world. We’ve shared some absolutely ridiculous and hilarious experiences, from
little moments to epic nights and weekends. (I will apologize now but I’m going
to reference some inside jokes. There should be at least one for all of you…if I
know you…some of these have happened a lot more than once, or twice, or even three times...):
- “Jon, ARE WE UP?!?!
- getting a ticket for driving on a road in a federal park…hello court summons that says United States of America vs. Megan Sip
- the numerous amounts of stag parties in Ireland
- “Uh, no, I can’t go out tonight, I have to be at work at 6 a.m.” and then getting dropped off at home around 4:30 a.m.
- vacation mojo
- “Don’t use ‘double fisting’ in Ireland”
- Peachy keen
- Ivanabitch
- The Hop
- Halloween as some soldiers’ French liberated whore…I still can’t drink Long Beach Iced Teas
- Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy
- Saran Wrap
- Let's do some shots!
We’ve had some happy experiences
and some not quite as happy experiences. There have been break-ups, illnesses, marriages
(of friends, not mine!) and kids (of friends, not mine!), divorces (again…not
mine), dream jobs (not many people are lucky enough to have counted themselves
among flight controllers for the U.S. Space Program)… I could go on forever but
I think you get it.
One of my favorite movies is The Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it. The basic
premise is being able to erase your memories after a bad break-up. It seems
like a good idea but in the movie, you can only erase ALL of the memories from
a time period. So, that means erasing the good memories with the bad memories.
While it would be nice to not have to have lived through some of the less fun
experiences of the last thirty years, I wouldn’t give them up at the expense of
also losing the fun experiences. Those are what have made me the person I am
today. And while I may not be perfect, I’m pretty happy with how my life is as I
start my thirties.
I watched my Grandpa on my mom’s side die from Alzheimer’s
and it was pretty devastating for the entire family. By the time he passed, he
didn’t recognize anyone. I think this is probably the cruelest way for anyone’s
life to end because our memories and the people we love are what really make it
worth getting up every day. Why the sudden bout of unexpected seriousness? Where
am I going with this? My final ‘Random Act of Kindness’ for this 30 Days to 30
Challenge was a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. Hopefully, there will
be a cure found for this one day and no one will have to face the end of their
life with the absence of all of their memories and not recognizing the people
that love them.
P.S. While on the website, I noticed there’s a fundraising
walk coming up in October. So, just a warning to those of you around Houston…I’ll
probably be seeing if any of you want to participate and help raise some money.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
P.P.S. This has been kind of fun. So, I’m considering
continuing some sort of challenge to make 30 just a bit more entertaining.
Maybe something new twice a month or something… Thoughts?
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