Octoberfest: Day 14 "Birthday Colors and Pocahontas"

When I was in the junior high band, I had my very first saxophone solo during the Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" song. I remember being so excited and nervous that I thought I might vom. It was my shining moment, when all eyes would be on me and I would celebrate the glory of nailing the performance, high fiving everyone when it was over, pats on the back, massive applause etc, a bow or two, maybe an encore, who knows. The reality of that moment, however, was that I got so flustered that I rushed the solo and nearly got the rest of the band off track for the entire song. The audience could not singwithallthevoicesofthemountainnorcouldtheypaintwithallthecolorsofthewind because it was over too quickly, before they could attempt the lyrics. Someday I would have a chance to redeem myself.

Not sunny

Thirty-one years ago today, my journey began. I was brought into a world full of beauty, promise, wonder, opportunities and more. I try to live my life to the best of my ability, working hard, determined to achieve goals I set and to NEVER settle for anything but the best for myself. Sometimes (ok more often than not) I get too many balls in the air, I stress myself out by working too much, too hard, and the pace is too fast to keep up with. Full-time work, freelance work, graduate school, home improvement projects, and then a crazy idea to do a new activity every day for 31 days AND BLOG ABOUT IT? Phew. I'm tired just typing that. We are all guilty of being too busy to enjoy the simple pleasures and beauty that life has to offer. Everyone says we should slow down, take a deep breath and not sweat the small stuff. Easier said than done. When it came time for me to choose an activity for my actual birthday, it seemed like an impossible task. Nothing could be good enough or exciting enough for the actual day right? Wrong. The activity I chose for today is perfect. Watching the sunrise: simple, peaceful, perfect. I decided to drag my parents along to Lake Red Rock where there is a lookout point and we could watch the sun rise. I expected to see the sun peek out over the horizon, rays sprayed every which way, I would see all of the colors of the wind, the sun, the sky, everything. No rushing this time. Watching, observing, feeling.

Mother Nature had other plans because it rained all morning. We drove to the Lake, hoping there would be a break in the rain, the sun could push through the clouds and give us the sight we were hoping to see. No such luck. But you know what, life is never perfect and that's ok. I think I'm guilty of this more than anybody because I have such an expectation of having and doing things a specific way - everything has to be just right. And more often than not, things never work out the way I expect them to but they work out the way they're supposed to. It was the perfect example of learning to make lemonade out of lemons or dance in the rain or in the case of the picture - looking bewildered in the rain. Keeping that in mind is a hard lesson. But it's so necessary. Looking back, the way the morning played out was perfect. We drove to the lake, couldn't find the lookout point, got scared driving over the bridge with the rain, wind and water below. Laughed hysterically and drove back home. That's typical of every outing in my life: adventurous, unpredictable and hilarious. It really was the perfect way to start my birthday.



Ready...

The rest of the day was perfect as well. I did what I do best and I shopped for awhile :) Had a wonderful massage, and then a great dinner with my family. Blew out birthday candles with my 3-year-old niece who says, "Happy Birthday Sonnie" (that's what she calls me). Who wouldn't love that? My other niece made me a card by hand, I had so many nice birthday messages from friends and I truly felt overwhelmingly loved and supported which is really an incredible feeling. It's my goal to count my blessings and feel that loved every day of the year and not just my birthday. As for not seeing the sunrise, no big deal. There's always an opportunity for an encore.


Set...

Blow!