Twentieth Birthday

I turned twenty last night. I was sitting on my bed with Lucia, sort of curled up with my toes curling against the blankets. We were reading La Infinita and discussing Neruda, poetry, Chile, wine, the sea...

The weekend had passed too quickly, of course, a blur of delicious food, giggles, ugly sweatpants, movie charades, running through the forest at dusk, hiking in the hills of Ha Ha Tonka. Tina was filming, documentary style, and I said, "Of course I'm happy... I'm with all my best friends... except for Stephanie, of course, and Liisa... Allan, Amy, and Esther, and the ones from last year and from high school who are far away." And I laughed.

The weather was perfect. Just perfect. It was like the best weekend in May, the one we never quite get. Mid sixties, bright warm sun, gentle breezes... and the lake was a deep blue green like I've never quite seen it, low and revealing extra shoreline everywhere, and the pines were dark up in the hills, and the grasses long and golden.

It was a weekend to set into my heart and take with me forever - my friends, my Missouri, my happiness. <3