A Quiet Birthday, a.k.a. A Message for Our British Readers

Today is officially my last day as a twenty-five year old.


Today, I received a care package from Mom, which brought a smile to my face. Then I received a wedding invitation to my dear friend Emily's mariage for this summer. I can hardly believe that just a little over a year ago, unemployed and living at home in Miami, I was uncertain as to how I would be able to make it across the Atlantic to see her on her big day. (At least I accomplished one of the four goals I had set for myself last year...)


Tomorrow, I shall cross that threshold of experiencing my second quarter of a century in this finite life of mine. Unlike last year's hoopla, tomorrow will prove to be a tranquil birthday. No cake. No candles. Not even an appearance from my DJ alter-ego and the Cartoon Party Cookies.

Rather than feeling a bit morose, I'm quite pensive on the matter. Moments like these provide me with a sobering shock that I am well into my adulthood.

But adulthood? Yes, I am a grown-up who has crucial responsibilities of ensuring that several French students learn English and Spanish, but I still feel like a naïve and ignorant child at times, especially whenever I experience a brief relationship that comes and goes in the blink of an eye. I suspect things can only get better for me in the long run.

Moreover, I certainly won't have any time to reflect on my solitude. In three days' time, I will board a bus at 6 a.m. and chaperone 19 French Middle Schoolers all the way to Albion.

That's right, British pals. I'm going to England for two weeks! TWO. WEEKS. I can almost taste the Cadbury's Dairy Milk and bottles of Irn Bru already.

I'll be mostly around the London area with my students, but in case you see an American shouting in French at her pupils to look both ways before walking past vicious gangs of "Keep Left" signs and reminding them to mind the gaps in the London Underground, then it's probably me.

Anyway, I do apologize for the lack of cartoons in today's post. I'll probably make up for it when I do my re-cap of my trip to England later this month.

Cheers from Barb the French Bean