Only 4 days left!!!

In four short days, my twenties will be over. How do I feel about this, you ask? Well, I guess I'm alright. I'm not one who believes that it's all downhill from here - ask me again when I am approaching 50 and I will probably have a different answer for you.

A lot has happened this week. I've witnessed firsthand the "circle of life" that people speak of. My grandfather passed away on Monday, October 27th and on Wednesday, October 29th, my older sister had an 8lb 11oz baby girl who is absolutely gorgeous! On Thursday, I went down for the funeral and was fortunate enough to be able to meet my new niece at 1-day old. This is huge for me because I didn't meet her big sister until she was 8 (long story).

While that was a joyous occasion, the funeral was not. It was a nice ceremony - they gave him a military send off and even had a real bugle playing Taps. I didn't think I was going to be emotional until I saw my grandfather in that coffin. It didn't even look like him - he was gray (my grandfather always had jet black hair, even in his 80s) and very gaunt. Once the funeral was over it took me awhile to compose myself. My mom was even worse.

But something good did come out of it. My grandfather's older sister, younger sister and younger brother came from around the country to be there. Many of my cousins were there and almost all of my aunts and uncles. We went to dinner afterwards and had a great time catching up.

Lately, I find myself a greater optimist than normal. I think this is proof that there is definitely a silver lining in every dark cloud. A bit of wisdom I will carry with me into my 30s and beyond.