Hello Love, 

 

This is the most wonderful post I've written. Well, I'm hoping it is. Today, September 30th, 2020 is the last day of my 20s. Tomorrow, October 1st, is my 30th birthday. I'm just so giddy and excited. I've always adored my birthday and celebrated it. It's with this ideation that I take a moment with this post to reflect and revel in the woman I've become. So today on the eve of a new decade, I'd like to share some musings on my 30 years journey. Cheers to three decades so far!  

 



0-10 years 

 

The softest wind caresses my skin, the soft breeze stops my train of thought as I look up from where I'm seated on the dirt to the sky through the plantain tree leaves. It's a beautiful day, just a few clouds. It's a quiet day, at least where I am out back in my mom's garden of endless banana trees and other plants I'll never be able to name. This is my favorite place to be- playing outside with my toys and the little critters roaming under the trees. My family is large and boisterous; our small village on this Bahamian island offers the paradise this little curious girl needs.  My fondest memories of my first decade of life are spent outside on adventures by myself or with my imaginary best friend, Sandy. It was a simple time, a childhood; but there were storms, there were hurricanes that formed who I was to become.   

 

11-20 years 

 

I didn't hear a word my geometry teacher said; my mind was too busy with thoughts about the cute boy I was smirking and eyeing all afternoon. The bell rang. As everyone rushed out I took my time putting my books in my bag and leisurely left the room knowing someone would be waiting for me. As I stepped into the royal blue and gold hallway of my high school I heard him say "hi". I turned around and stepped back, stopped by the yellow unused lockers. We eyed each other saying not a word. We'd first seen each other a week before at the football game. He was the third string QB. I was a teenaged girl. There against the lockers I got my first kissed. A moment I savored among a sea of changing tides. My second decade was a constant flow of transitions. Transitioning from child to teen. Transitioning to a new country. Transitioning to a caregiver. Transitioning to college. Transitioning to young adulthood. I wished I savored more moments, paused more. So many wonderful things blossomed in my life, yet, not without some rain.  

 

21-30 years 

 

There was something warm on my face. A soothing warmth that beckoned me awake. My eyes fluttered opened to an unremarkable room. The warmth of the sun woke me on a Saturday morning to the most remarkable view I had ever seen in my life. The cloudless sky was waking up and revealing the bluest lake on the foreground of a multicolored village set against the backdrop of Italian cypress trees ascending on a mountain range. There I was, 21, in a little hostel on the lake not believing what I was seeing. I had arrived just the night before and treated myself to a candlelit dinner for one on the Menaggio coast. That morning I woke up to a vision I had thought entirely impossible a few months into planning this semester abroad. I said a prayer and got ready. I gathered my journal and purse and walked two towns over to Tremezzo. A walk I'll forever remember. I got on a little boat and coasted along Lake Como. That little trip came to define my 20s. This was the most beautiful decade of them all, so far.  

 

As a reflect on these past decades I see beautiful and endless blooms in the garden of my soul. I've blossomed because of the sunny days, sun scorched days, rainy days, stormy days, and the dark days where I thought I'd never see the Light again. I love the woman I am. I love her so much. I am who I am because the greatest gift I've been given these 29 years is the presence and joy of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (my constant companion).  I welcome 30 and the ensuing decade with a child-like joy because I stand faithful on the promises of God, my hope and firm foundation.  

 

Faithfully, 

 

Marie