No Longer a Teenager

Tomorrow I turn 20.

Two days after Christmas... my parents suck.

Okay okay not really. When I was little, my mom worked so hard to make my birthday special. I'd have a slumber party the Friday school got out for the winter break. After a day of classroom Christmas festivities and fun, everyone would gather at my house for caroling or scavenger hunts and games; it was icing on the cake! (Pun intended.) But as I got older, things changed; instead having a party, I went to swim practice before my grandma cooked a simple special dinner. And now that I'm in college, my friends are in other cities all over Texas. This isn't supposed to be a "woe is me" post, but a general note of acceptance of the way things are.

My birthday is now a quiet celebration with my family. Because it falls on a holiday, I'll always be near the ones I love the most during this time. I read a quote by Thomas Jefferson once, that at the time just made me giggle (it said bosom and I couldn't get past this metaphor,) but now, living on my own away from home, I find it so true:

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. "

Tomorrow I turn 20, and I'm thankful to spend the day with my family, whom I love, and with my parents, who don't really suck.