St. Louis and Other Musings

Well, I made it back from St. Louis - it was a successful girls' weekend, and it was much needed.

I would like to say thanks to St. Louis for being such a great host. Despite all the cries of concern I heard on my connecting flight from Atlanta to St. Louis about it being the city with the highest crime rate in the country, and all the crazy weather news I've followed in the last week, my purse was never stolen (nor was there any attempt on it - which offends me a little, is it really such an ugly purse that no one wanted it?!) and I didn't see one cow get pulled up into the air by a violent twister. Well done, StL, way to keep your crap together during my visit!
I did, however, see the St. Louis Arch, the Gateway to the Westward expansion. I can now boast that I've been to the top of the tallest U.S. monument, which is no small thing.

And I will say that I was less worried for my life at the top of the very tall monument than I was whilst I rode in the tiny little Men in Black pod-styled trams up and down. It would seem my claustrophobia beat out my acrophobia - my fear of heights is only relevant when I play an active role in whether I'm going to fall from the height or not. But it was a gorgeous view from the top of the arch. And I saw so many Milwaukee Brewers hats and t-shirts (they were in town to play the Cardinals) that I just felt right at home.

The other highlights of the trip would have to be setting up and enjoying the reception; watching She's the Man with Courtney and Berkley (you looked soooo serene...!) for the umpteenth time in our friendship life; eating at the Steak 'N Shake - or the teak 'n and hake, as it were (silly missing s's on the sign) - for the first time; playing a good game of sand volleyball Saturday night; Berkley's overenthusiasm for the number of trees in the Midwest; and just plain having a lot of fun with some of my favorite people - whether I knew they were my favorites before I came, or whether I found out they were my favorites after meeting them.

And last but not least, kudos to AirTran Airways for getting me everywhere I planned to go on time, at the latest. Almost every flight left a little early with everyone totally loaded (one flight only left right on time, and it was kind of a letdown), and I made it back to DC a full 30 MINUTES EARLY! What the what?! And with such friendly flight attendants. Impressive. I especially appreciate the little bit of humor the marketing team sneaks into the small things:

Anytime I can get a how-to on eating something, I'm sold on it. Help me to think as little as possible about I'm doing, and I'm yours. You had me at "how to," you had me at "how to."

All in all, I'd give this weekend two thumbs up; it was good family fun all around. Thanks Courtney, for getting married and having a reception I could go to. Let's do this again sometime soon, girls, okay? Berk, are you up next? I'm looking forward to it!

But on a serious note, this was definitely a fun way to spend the last weekend of my life as a young 24 year old. Because - can you believe it - my birthday is on Wednesday...my 25th birthday. It's just so weird to say, since I'm pretty sure you don't turn 25 when you're only 23, and I'm pretty sure I'm still 23. I haven't really considered myself as getting older. I don't think I ever really accepted 24 - I just kept forgetting about it. I didn't let go of 23 quite as easily as my other ages. 25 actually sounds easier for me. I don't know what it is about the even numbers, but I struggle to take them seriously. At any rate, I've only got one more day before I'm no longer able to pull off the "early twenties" thing - I'll truly be a twenty-something-year-old. I'm going to have to start getting embarrassed about telling people my age, what a bother.

If I'm honest, this birthday's going to be weird not so much because I'm feeling old (because I'm not, it's just not sitting in me that I'm getting older), but because my siblings must be old now...no offense to you, since you're my main audience. But I'm the youngest, so for me to hit this pivotal age is a big deal - because I only have older siblings, so I'm supposed to stay 15 forever. For their sake, if not mine. So, in my final days here, I just want to apologize. Sorry for aging. Sorry for moving on. Sorry for becoming a young adult instead of stopping at the youth phase. But if it makes anyone feel better, when we all get together in July, I'll still follow you all around because I want to be part of anything you do, and I'll still listen to all of your stories intently and laugh at your jokes and memories because you're the funniest people I know, and I'll still think nothing but amazing things about each of you because you're my idols. And, if you're extra nice to me, perhaps I'll re-enact my awesome 'I'm a Little Teapot' glory days. Just to remind us all that we're still pretty young, when it comes down to it.