The First Day of My 18th Year (Full Post)

Yesterday was really nice, sweet and memorable.

To quote from my journal:

Well, I just turned 18 a few minutes ago. I was sort of mourning it a minute ago, at about 11:30[pm] when I was telling Aaron [a kid from school] about it online. Aaron and I were talking with Lukas and Corbin [another kid from my school] as we finished the 3rd out of 4 yearbook deadlines. The next is in 2 weeks. (phew! I'm tired just thinking about it!) Anyways, I was saying, "I only have like a few minutes left in my childhood", and he said that was kind of a bummer...[and I thought so too, even if] only a part of me really felt sad. Because I've felt 18 for months now with all the work with yearbook, mom's back being totally out, their cruise... I just wanted to let you know that I found my last minutes of childhood to be significant. [About 20 minutes later,] I was practicing for our exciting upcoming Drama production- a musical. So I was blocking my character and having great fun while getting ready for bed- eventually in the dark [my imagination works freely in the dark!], in my room. I was dancing, pretending to giggle, striking poses, and having a grand 'ol time to myself. My imigainitve juices were flowing freely and "funly". I noticed it was 12:07, so I decided it was time to flop onto bed, but as I did so, I had this epitome. I was dancing just as much 7 minutes ago as I was just now. I'm still a kid, or, I still have that free fun-loving spirit in me. And it's still going to be there when I'm an older single woman, when I have kids, and even when they're gone. And, really, I'm so loved, provided for and taken care of that I am 18 by name and a moral responsibility only. I'm not really an adult. I'm glad for it. I like this in-between spot, because it's a best-of-both-worlds spot.

That was cool to me because I didn't think I'd suddenly wake up a totally different person just because I was 18, but, for some reason, part of me must have felt that there really would be a difference between March 6th and March 7th, because then I'd be a legal adult and my childhood would thus have ended. Really, my childhood is not gone now. I enjoy the carefree nature that I can still have to whatever degree I have it.

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When I woke up several hours later, it was pretty cool too. I went out to lunch with Sister Natalie and Mom at a nice restaurant, and we visited for bit, which is totally one of my favorite things to do.

Then, in the evening, my "celebration" began. Mom and I planned to go shopping down by the beach, but we ended up just checking out a tiny bathing suit shop in Newport Beach that sold- what else?- tiny bathing suits. I actually ended up getting a bathing suit I loved from Kohls the next day.
So I didn't get anything there. But we were only there for a bit because it was time to drive off and join Sister Mendi and Megan in Laguna Beach at the grounds of the beautiful Mirage hotel.

I loved listening to the loud, happy music
while driving with the windows down. Pause it
when it's black, because the rest actually
applies after dinner.

On the way, I got a touching card from Mom, but I refused to cry- to her disappointment. She forgot my gift, which I got the next day. It was this discontinued perfume, Tilt, that I really like and have missed since I ran out, that Dad found off eBay. When we got there, we found the girls just in time to walk together and admire the views as the sun set on the water. A meticulous former tour guide took pictures of us in the sunset, which was beautiful since there were just enough clouds to be lit by the colors in the fading light. As per my request we walked down to the sand, which was more awkward than I thought since I was wearing heels, but I'm glad we did because I still love to see the water. Also, there was a young couple in gorgeous formal attire having pictures taken of them on the rocks, and that was sweet to watch.



Then we headed to Las Brisas, a nice restaurant a little up the road. As we were walking up to the door, a gazebo overlooking the dark ocean housed a few people including a lone guitar player/singer, so we went in and listened/chatted for a while. As we walked out, he noticed that we had a gift bag, and asked whose birthday it was. When he found out it was my 18th birthday, he sang me a short, personalized happy birthday song that he made up on the spot. I didn't know what to do except smile, say thanks, and leave a tip. So I did all three (brilliant!)

Then we sat down in the patio while we waited for our table (table 18, coincidentally, hahaha!), and Megan said I should open my gift. So I did, and I was very surprised and delighted to find that it was a beautiful, useful, sentimental gift; the likes of which I'd never really had before. It was a friendship memory box that Mother and Daughter Winberg had worked on for the past three days- so much so that Daughter Winberg didn't even got to her schoolwork.

Inside were photographs, mementos, and even a touching letter about our friendship. As I found out through the evening, every single detail, every detail, had been thought through and pondered to perfection and be a great fit to my taste. I don't think it fully hit me then, or even now, how incredibly special it is. Even now though, I know it's probably going to be that 'most treasured possession' that I own, and even more so as we grow older together. I walk into my room and see it, and I feel a rush of vibe-upping happiness for that token of love.

Then we ate dinner, talking and visiting about all kind of stuff, and I eventually got the traditional birthday dessert, which I liked and was happy about.

After about 2 hours at dinner, Mom and I went off on our own to Balboa (see prt 2 of above video) where we took a ferry to the dead-quiet island and got Starbucks Coffee and the new Jack Johnson CD, Sleep Through the Static. I think I like it better than Mom does, because I listen to it a lot, but it's all good. Really, the island and Balboa were so empty, you would have thought it was 1am, instead of 9:30. But I liked it, partially because I thought it was a sort of rare peace and silence, tough whether or not that's really true, I'm not sure.

When I couldn't think of what to do for my 18th birthday, I didn't expect much. It ended up being much more memorable and sweet than I had hoped for, and I think it's a day I'll be able to look back on for a while as a very special celebration of my brand-new adulthood.