Today I turned 30 in a baby pool on a sidewalk in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn with the sounds of R&B in the air, the smell of BBQ wafting to our noses and the sweltering heat of NYC making a baby pool the coolest place to be, literally. Is it ironic to spend the first day of my 30s in such a childlike state (we even had water guns!)? Maybe, but that tiny body of water turned a day that could have been spent nursing our hangovers from my bday party the night before, into a day of pure unadulterated fun that my friends and I will always remember.
Mood: Woke up in misery, went to bed in bliss
Progress: Managed to get out of bed and turn what could have been a miserable hot hungover day in NYC into one of the most fun days I have ever had in my life, let alone the best birthday ever. Seriously.
Mentally: After a night of sheer debauchery I woke up in a spinning state to an already sauna-like NYC. Thoughts of regret filled my aching head. Was this really how I was going to spend my 30th birthday? What is wrong with me? Was all this work just a waste to end with in such an immature way? It was almost like the hangover I pretended I didn't have yesterday had accumulated with the one from last night's party to make the ultimate painful welcome to reality, welcome to my 30s.
Physically: Luckily I dragged myself out of bed to meet my friends for brunch (don't we look so fresh in that first pic?) where the heat was so intense that all we could talk about was how to find some water to swim or at least sit in. But that is the thing about BK, if you aren't down to share a public pool with hundreds of kids, swimming isn't really an option. So we fixated on buying a baby pool and on our walk home ran into someone with the same idea (for their kids) who pointed us in the direction of where they bought theirs. And voila, the heat was beat and the fun began.
Emotionally: After the slow start and earlier mental state, today I was completely happy. The party was a success and now I could just revel in my best friends' company and be silly and splash around. True to our form, the day after the party was, as usual, the most fun — when it's down to the original crew and we all have so much material from last night to laugh about. And being in a pool on a sidewalk makes it that much better.
Thoughts About Turning 30: This is not exactly how I thought it would go down but I couldn't have been happier about spending my first day as a 30 year old marinating in a baby pool. It just goes to show you that 30 really is just a number (is 30 the new 5?) and whether I am trying to be a sophisticated adult with a formal steak dinner or acting like a child with a water gun in the blistering sun, all that really matters is that I am happy. And today I was.
