nobody likes you when you’re 23

let’s be honest: i’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for this day since blink-182’s enema of the state was released in the summer of ’99.

i expected to spend the day driving around town, windows down, blasting “what’s my age again?”, shouting the lyrics at really anyone that i happened to pass by.

but the reality was a bit different — though i am very happy to report i did, in fact, blast the song at least once. as soon as i woke up, rolled out of bed, and shuffled into the kitchen to whip up the littlun’s breakfast, i pressed play on my birthday anthem.

birthdays aren’t like they were before, not now that i’m a mama and have a tiny human to take care of around the clock. but that’s okay, truly. birthdays were never, with the exception of perhaps a handful when i was a littlun myself, my cup of tea. the older i get, the less i care to celebrate in any big or flashy way. a day spent napping, or listening to records, or reading harry potter would suffice.

and as list-making is one of my greatest little joys, what better way to commemorate my turning 23 than by a bit of list-making?

23 truths i’ve learned in my 23 years:

1. everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives.
2. no one has ever become poor by giving.
3. the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
4. forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.
5. laughing during sex is the best.
6. pick your battles.
7. love at first sight is meeting your child for the first time.
8. crying is not a sign of weakness.
9. day by day, nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.
10. all bodies are beach bodies.
11. you become what you think.
12. being kind is more important than being right.
13. the best things in life aren’t things.
14. it’s okay to not be okay.
15. smoking cigarettes does not make you look cool.
16. comparison is the thief of joy.
17. you can’t make the same mistake twice. the second time you make it, it’s no longer a mistake. it’s a choice.
18. the little things are the big things.
19. it’s never too late.
20. contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as too much coffee.
21. actions speak louder than words.
22. happiness comes from within.
23. what’s for you will not pass you and what passes you is not for you.