Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Let's Play a Game

Happy Valentine’s Day!! I hope you’re eating candy hearts or at least wearing red and smiling at people you don’t know. So, guess what?! Tomorrow’s my birthday. And one of my favorite things about my birthday is that it is, indeed, the day after Valentine’s Day. [I am worth every discounted penny of “day-old” flowers and balloons and donuts. In fact, I delight in them.]

Last year, when I turned 27, I had a really unusual and fun day. An interesting turn of events [a.k.a. the lunar calendar] caused my birthday to align with that of the Prophet Mohammad’s. And do ya know what that means? I’ll tell you: it meant no work. For nearly the whole country. It. Was. GREAT! On a Tuesday, we all had off, because it was my birthday.

You may or may not need to know this, but: I would get really shy about buying toilet paper from local dukans [neighborhood convenience stores]. For some reason, I just couldn’t bear buying toilet paper from men in a small room. I couldn’t do it. Roommate would make fun of me and, well, we would use tissues. Yes, we would. In my country, the plumbing systems weren’t equipped to handle TP anyways, so there was always a little garbage can for it next to the toilet and a bidet. Well, I rolled up clean towels and decoratively stored them in my unused bidet, and when we ran out of toilet paper, I’d also place a box of tissues in there, too.

Some people thought this was so funny—that I wouldn’t buy toilet paper and that Roommate was just as stubborn and wouldn’t buy it for us/me. My first birthday visit of the day proved to be incredibly awesome. My friends came over, a mother and daughter team of fantastic-ness, and had a HUGE present wrapped up for me. It was an “economy-sized” pack of toilet paper. EIGHTEEN ROLLS, people. Yes, this toilet paper lasted me the rest of my days in the desert. I never again had to “not go buy TP,” nor did I stash tissues in the bidet. So fabulous. And so thoughtful. [I’m STILL thankful.]

The rest of my day included ice cream, more visits, and a homemade dinner [of not Arab food] with my most wonderful and dear ex-pat lady friends. I even had a birthday cake—yellow cake and chocolate frosting—my favorite, with “26 + 1” candles on it. [There was a minor argument over how old I was actually turning. Haha.] I took the liberty of making a collage of my day—or at least the photos I can show you here.


This year I’m celebrating 28 years of goodness by… going to work. But, I knew if I gave you the chance, you’d give me a sweet gift. Here’s the deal: All I want for my birthday is… your [sentence] story. The thing I most look forward to on my birthday is announcing that it’s my big day to total strangers and then asking them where they were and what they were doing when they were my age. It’s that easy. [And you’re not even strangers.] I like how people take the moment to “think back” to what they were doing in life. In my mind, it gives them a chance to see how far they’ve come and hopefully recognize all the great and precious milestones they’ve had in life. [I don’t think we do this enough.] Some of your memories may be long ago, or just this year, but regardless—won’t you play along?

So, my sweet friends who check on this Yellow Dress
and other things we do for love!
Where were you and what were you doing
when you were 28-years old?

[And if you’re not 28 yet, tell me where you think you’ll be by then—like, in life.]

{{Please remember that your comment will get… bumped off if you use any words that are uncomfortable or reason for suspect by some internet browsers for our sisters in the Middle East. [I totally got their backs.] So stick to words like “serving,” “worker,” “Father,” “His Son,” and whatever combination of $+@ symbols you can use. I totally and completely appreciate you respecting this. I know it’s hard, but get creative! I want TYD to be a safe place for our friends.}}

Ooooooh!!!!! I’m so excited.

Ready?

GO!

20 comments:

  1. When I turned 28, I was just finishing up 11 months of language study on the island of Java, Indonesia, and preparing to move to Papua. My husband took me out for a dinner just-the-two-of-us, not something we often got with a 1 1/2 year old kid in the house :-) We went out for Japanese and then to see the movie "Spiderman 3" on opening night. What a treat to be able to go out to dinner and a movie! Now that we live in Papua, neither of those is really an option. So we learn to be creative with what we have! And I fondly look back on the last time my birthday included dinner out and a movie :-)

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  2. When I turned 28, we had just moved to a new city with a recently turned one-year-old (she's now 20!). My husband was starting school so he can teach the Book as he does where we live now. I spent that summer working nights remodeling a Wal-Mart (before they were open 24 hours) so we could put some money on the bank before school started (and so he could work days toward that same end). So many, many cool lessons from our Father that year! Special gift after special gift, he showed us that we were right where he wanted us, even when, humanly speaking, it didn't look like it was going to work. I remember the manager I worked with thinking I was crazy to not go out and get a real job with the accounting degree I had, and me explaining that I very much wanted to be home for my little one and my husband; how cool it has been to have served in a huge variety of ways because of that education, not earning a penny for it, and having our Father totally bless us over and over again!

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  3. the day i turned 28, i had been engaged for one week. the day of your birth, the 15th of Feb, I had just the day before, had my FIRST valentine's day having a valentine EVER. it didn't turn out QUITE like I imagined, but was nice none-the-less. on june 9 the year I turned 28 I got married. what a great year turning 28 was for me! thanks for the reminder (I actually had to add 28 years to the year of my birth to remember that was my 28th...sad I know!). here's to a fabu 28 for you! many blessings and love and joy to you in this coming year! can't wait to see what Dad has in store!

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  4. I'm glad I'm not the only having to some serious maths ;-) The year I turned 28, I was just embarking on a new adventure serving students in Berlin. Funny how life sometimes comes full circle... After many years abroad, I am now back in Berlin. This time serving the young workers who serve the students. Amazing how many treasures those intervening years have held! And how quickly they have gone!

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  5. I'll be the first to comment that I am not YET 28...so no memories to share :o). But, I will be turning 28 this fall...so with that being said...I hope/plan to be in language school by then in Spain! I am finishing up this exciting process of "preparing to go"...and so by my 28th, I'll most likely be in the thick of language and culture shock! But, Very much excited and looking forward then to what my year of being 28 will look like in a new place/phase in my life.

    ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

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  6. On my 28th birthday, I was actually back in the States after living in the Middle East for a few months. I was at the beach with my family while a hurricane was blowing through. HAHA It was still a great time. Happy Birthday lady! Hope it's a great one for you!

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  7. When I turned 28 I was just a few weeks away from moving to Africa and getting married just a few weeks after that. It's only been four years since then, but sometimes it feels like a lifetime.

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  8. 28th birthday? I was great with child. She is now 14. And continues to be a joy "on most days" :)
    Happy birthday to you. It's already the day after here in Tokyo. I might eat some left over chocolates in your honor...just to celebrate.

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  9. I had moved to China six months before so it was my first birthday away from people who had known me longer than six months :). That was 16 years ago! I loved turning 28 because it's a perfect number mathmatically and had fun telling people I was now perfect :). Have fun being 28. Amy

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  10. When I turned 28 it was the middle of hot season here in Tanzania (where I live) and I decided to chop all my hair off, so that's what I did! I also went out for dinner at a great Indian restaurant with friends. 28 was a great year. But 29 is turning out to be even better. :)

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  11. I was finishing up my 4th year of teaching and starting to prepare to move to Tanzania. I'm in my 3rd year here and loving it!... such an adventure!

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  12. I have only been 28 since August. Since I turned 28, my first baby girl turned 1!, and I finished up my 3rd year here in Peru. Not sure what the rest of this year holds, but it looks like it's gonna be a bumpy, interesting ride!

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  13. My 28th Spin around the Sun was spent in year #2 in Burundi. Highlights, over 30 different people stayed in my house, my sister got engaged and married, I gained a brother, my dad turned 60, I got to go home twice, and I let my pet monkey go into the wild. 29 is pretty good too!

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  14. Happy Birthday, Sarah! You are a gift to us all. Love your stories, but more than that, I love your heart. When I was 28, I was working full-time as a nurse at Denver Children's Hospital; my spouse was in grad school, and I was dreaming of traveling to far away places.

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  15. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARAH! When I was 28, I was begging God to change His mind and my husband's mind. I didn't want to leave America and move to the middle of noplace at the end of the road in South America. I didn't want to move my lilttle children from the continent on which their grandparents lived. But God and my husband did not change their minds. I went through some culture shock when I got there and I plotted my escape--on foot--through Central America and Mexico and then into California. It would work! But eventually I settled down and fell in love with the people and with the job God gave me.

    Again, Happy Birthday, Sarah!

    Linda

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  16. Okay, I'll play. (Happy birthday!) On Valentine's Day when I was about to turn 28, we were in the middle of our first term, forced to be in the US until our second baby passed medical clearance so we could return to Guatemala. If anyone had told me I would have a third baby before the next Valentine's Day (three kids in 3 1/2 years) - I would have NOT believed it. Those were crazy times.

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  17. Happy Birthday! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! When I was 28, I graduated from college and had my first baby, our son Micah. Wow, neat memories from age 28!

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  18. At 28 I lived in Minnesota, worked as a study abroad advisor at a university and was blessed to travel to various locations around the world and mentor students in cross-cultural transitions. That year I was in my 2nd year of trying to dig my way through a pile of books as I studied for my master's degree in preparation to return to Japan. I celebrated my birthday with my twin sister and other family members at a local restaurant.

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  19. Happy Birthday, sweet Sarah! I have 1.5yr to go til 28... and my heart's desire is to spend that day somewhere in the Middle East/North Africa serving ppl who know me for less than 6 months :) Hmm, is that a Bday wish? I wonder.... The Father knows our hearts desires and he also has the perfect plans. If the two combine - greatness. If not, even better, cause his plans are way better than what my heart desires.

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  20. I wish this was FaceBook and I could just "like" all your comments--because I completely do!!! Thank you for taking the time to tell me your stories! You guys are great! It was a great birthday week and I am grateful to have gotten so many stories from you.
    Rock on! Love, Sarah.

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