vingt-deux

Another year.

Another birthday.

A new perspective.

I'm not sure if it's turning 22 that's so strange or if it's turning 22 halfway across the world that makes this birthday feel so different from all the rest. 

I've always asked the "do I look older?" question, but this year I think it's the "do you feel older?" question that became a better fit.  

And I think the answer is yes, I do feel older. Everyone makes 21 out to be this big deal. You're legal, you think you're grown up and there's this sense of invincibility when reality has it that you're still in school, still live at home on the weekends, and still borrow from your parents' pocketbooks. 

But this year, turning twenty-two means having a college degree, important, life altering decisions to make, landing that first full-time, big girl job, saving up for a place to call my own, and easing out of the place I've called home my whole life to start my own. Scary and exciting stuff, folks! 

So with today being my 22nd birthday, I've decided to reflect on some highlights and favorite things from the year of 21.  

- Finished college a year early. 

- Decided not to go to law school.

- Still sleep in my XL Delta Gamma shirts.

- Sour patch kids aren't just for kids.

- No I'm not 18.

- And no, I'm not still in high school.

- Halfup, halfdown with a hair clip is still acceptable.

- Red lipstick is my favorite.

- Red dresses are even better.

- I've become quite the cook.

- Sang in 5 Christmas shows.

- Always a Delegate.

- The owner of a high-mileage vehicle.

- Developed a love for fruits and veggies, but a cheese pizza is hard to beat.

- Bad dreams aren't just dreams until you wake up your parents.

- Living in another country is the best thing I've ever done.

- Collector of Christmas ornaments.

- Photography became a hobby. 

- Growing a green thumb.

- Trouble will always be a fun game.

- One childhood friend got married, another engaged..

- A birthday eve chocolate macaroon to end a year of precious memories and many blessings.

Thanks to my family and friends for the messages, pic-stitch collages, and FaceTime calls. You've truly made it a memorable day from around the globe.

I even had the sweetest (and most delicious) surprise at work today! Have I mentioned that the French do sweets so well?

And because I couldn't be with my parents today, a shameless birthday selfie sent to their inbox this morning will have to tie them over until we can take a stroll down the Champs Élysées and sip on hot chocolate in Paris come Friday!  

Marseille Boat Day

A week ago today, I spent the entire day on a boat out in the Mediterranean Sea in Marseille. A lady I work with invited me to tag along with her family and a few of their close friends. She mentioned that when she was about my age and spent a year away from her home in France that she missed being with family on Sundays. She was spot on when she said that. 

The weather was gearing up to deliver a perfect day and I'm so glad I accepted her invitation. It was a nice atmosphere to be around a mom who worried about her 10 year old son and 7 year old daughter and a relaxed father who teased the girl and wrestled with his son in the boat's open bow.

We set out pretty early to give us the whole day to spend on the water. Two hours after we started speeding through the sea, we docked inside one of the callanques for a coffee break with a spectacular view of the cliffs and boats coming and going from the cafe's balcony.

A few more callanques and it was time for a sidewalk lunch of grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and a small basket of frites (fries). Water has its way of making me feel like I haven't eaten a meal in over a week! I was happy to have an hour or two of tree shade sitting. That spf 85 I slathered all over my face had long worn off and my nose and cheeks were turning pretty pink. Sunburn, windburn, pretty in pink?   

After meals were eaten, desserts served, and espressos finished, we headed back out for a more relaxing ride through the city's old port before making our back to the dock to call it a day...but not before I was offered the wheel and steered us back to the far side of Marseille. 

The water was quite choppy and the air so salty that I didn't even pull out my camera on the boat. Good thing the iPhone comes in handy during moments like that. 

Wishing you smooth sailings for the upcoming week! 

I'm really excited to share yesterday's excursion in the Luberon with you all so check back in a few days for what I think are shaping up to be my favorite batch of photos. I hiked down a mountain without busting my behind so there's that, too! 

Go Green

Yet again, I'm quite a bit overdo on an update. And yet again, I had last Friday off making for an extra long weekend and I was determined to have a bath blast. 

I just randomly happened to check the dates of the Jesus Culture UK Tour and it just so happened that the Bath, UK One Night was on the 4th, the day I had off. I flew into Bristol Friday morning, hailed a checkered cars cab for some right side driving on the left side of the road and made my way down the narrow, winding roads lined with brownstone cottages donning 3 and 4 smoke-filled chimneys to Bath. It didn't take long to notice how green everything was. I chuckle to myself when I think about it because I'm in a place called Bath and there are showers nearly everyday. So naturally it would be, huh? It was beautiful. I loved the rolling hillsides that looked like a patchwork quilt with grazing cows, the grey, hazy skies, and the tree formed canopy over the streets. Everything about it was perfect.

As for the reason I made the trip in the first place, the Jesus Culture concert was unbelievable. Every worship experience is unique, but there's something so special about corporate worship with hundreds of young people from all over the world coming together to encounter the Lord and who desire to be the light in the dark world we live in. It was a sweet reminder that we are given a time of encounter so that we can be an encounter to others. Not to be left out were Steve and Dorrine who let me snag the seat next to them on the 2nd row of the balcony...prime seats, I tell you!

Saturday it was all about Jane Austen. A tour dedicated to all things Jane makes for a happy Maggie. Two of Austen's novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were set in Bath and as we were led down the present day version of the same streets Austen walked and saw the places in which her fictional characters socialized on a daily basis, I half expected to see Mr. Darcy himself. I know, wrong novel...a pity!

Though it was a quick trip and my camera stayed in my bag most of the time due to drizzly weather, here's what I managed to capture when the rain took a break. 

I told you it was grand green!!

something fierce.

I just can't help myself.

I love politics. I grew up with politics.

I have a political science degree, okay.

I think it's fascinating how so many people can have so many varying and contradicting opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints on how things should be done or how to better the American people.

But what I love most about politics is that it has one thing in common.

It evokes emotion in people.

It makes me so angry at times I want nothing more than to throw the bowl of popcorn at the tv. I get so nervous during key votes that so deeply affect our Country that I bite off all 10 fingernails (a bad habit, I know). I love walking door to door and holding a sign in the pouring rain on election day because I so deeply believe in the candidate and what they have to offer. I get so disappointed when the person I cast a vote for didn't win because I truly believed they were the best person for the job. I love the knots in my stomach on election day when you wonder if everything you did will have been enough after you've crossed the finish line and the polls are closed. I love the excitement and energy in a room when the results are coming in and it's even better than what you hoped for. 

But most of all, I love the pride that comes along with all that. We all feel different things in each of those moments, but I believe that the key factor which ties us all together is pride. I love my Country and in the midst of all the who's who and pointed fingers, I still have pride in the red, white, and blue.  

We know what it means to be an American because we are one. Even in light of the government shutdown, I see stories and photos like this and my heart swells with pride. Pride for my dad, the man who helped raise me and has taught me so much. Pride for the World War II Veterans who were so brave and gave so much to this Country we all love something fierce. Pride for the people cheering them on because they understand what it means. What it represents. What it signifies to the Veterans, the youngest 85, and their families who made the journey with them.

Shutdown or No shutdown, we can all understand the rule breaking in one of today's breaking headlines... Mississippi veterans defy shutdown to visit WWII monument...

But there's one more headline I want to point out today.

October 1st officially begins my list of upcoming countdowns!

3 days...Jesus Culture. Bath, UK.

4 days...All things Jane Austen tour.

27 days...I don't know about you, but I might    

           be feelin'  22.

30 days...MY PARENTS ARE COMING!

A belated birthday and celebratory sweets in Paris with my mom and dad is the cherry on top for the month of October. I can't think of a better weekend to spend in Paris and I can't think of better people to spend it with. 

So, thanks to the two most important people in my life for always encouraging me to dream big and to do my best. Thanks for the lessons you've taught me the past 21 years. Thanks for being there to support me, encourage me, and love me even when I was too stubborn to put on the dress for church during those 'play in the lake, fish with the boys, bring frogs in the house formative years' and too stubborn to say I was sorry when an apology was due. Thanks for all the night night prayers as a child, loaning your shirtsleeve as a kleenex, and for still pretending I can fit in your laps. 

Here's to all the gelato and croissants we're going to eat and the miles we're going to walk.

And here's to all the hugs I can't wait to give you both in 30 short days!!