Being 25

I've spent the last month telling myself "I am 25" so that when the birthday actually came and people started asking me how old I was, I wouldn't get confused. Tragic, but it's happened to me before, so now I give myself a little practice time way in advance. Luckily for me, venticinco slides off the tongue a little more easily than venticuatro, so I actually prefer to say it.

Now that I'm actually 25, I realize it's not old... then again, I bet 50 year olds are telling themselves the same thing. The thing is, I'm not suddenly moving slowly, wrinkling, or sagging. That stuff happens gradually anyway. But it does feel different, like at this age I ought to have new responsibilities and obligations... to myself.

So, I spent the turning 25 weekend at the beach with Ana de mi alma, who threw a surprise birthday party with the help of the Cheers crowd that hangs out at the Bodeguita. (If there were a reality show taped on Matalascanas, the cameras would have to stay at this little bar. Between the comedy, the singing, and the dramatically overplayed anger, the cameras could actually keep rolling 24/7 and air footage without any cuts.) We'd gone there earlier in the day, and Ana must have told everyone the day before that it was my birthday, so people, some of whom I'd just met, kept wishing me a feliz cumpleanos and asking how old I was (good thing I practiced). When we went back later on, and after a half hour or so, I took a servicio trip with Ana, who said she was mareada from all the vino... odd I thought. Then, when we came back downstairs, and she was shouting "mareada, mareada!" I knew something was up, I just didn't know exactly how it would play out.... Cut to the Bodeguita at the bottom of the stairs: Lights out! Cake! And a roomful of people singing "cumpleanos a ti, cumpleanos a ti, te deseamos todo, cumpleanos a ti!"

So, lessons learned this weekend and in the past week, other than the fact that a birthday only lasts 24 hours (unless you start shopping a week early, and extend it with chocoterapia):

• LOVE YOURSELF
• there's a difference between loving someone and loving them well
• sing happy birthday to yourself in the mirror when you wake up, it will set the day off RIGHT
• if 34 isn't old, 25 is like fresh out of the womb
  
• it is possible to still be in love after 30+ years of marriage
• good friends are priceless and often come unexpectedly
• overexaggerate and damn near shout when speaking another language, it sounds crazy in your head, but people will know what you're saying
• how to say Nia in Spanish: pretend you have a lisp, and stick your tongue out between your teeth a little, otherwise you'll be mistaken for Lia, Nina, or even Ina by some abuelas...
• having a place where everyone knows your name is like my goal in life, and I seem to have achieved it in Bollullos Par del Condado
  
• sad movies can be good when well acted (case in point, The Namesake or El Buen Nombre)
• cleaning and doing laundry is a great way to pass the time
• nothing comes exactly when you want it to, but surprises are often welcomed