25 Years Down, Who Knows How Many To Go

On Sunday, I turned 25. I was also working at the WinterJams in the middle of nowhere Peoria, IL.

When I uttered the words "I'm 25" that morning, I suddenly felt old. In five years, I'll be 30, and to be honest, that does not sound appealing to me in any way, shape or form. I was talking to my friend Creed about this who felt the same thing when he turned 25. But he told me not to think about it because 30 is still five years away. I sighed and decided he was probably right, so I went back to selling shirts and glow sticks and didn't think about it again.

[keep this first paragraph in mind - it'll come back into play down below. somewhere.]

This was quite the unconventional birthday. I'm not sure I can say that I ever expected to wake up on a tour bus and work a 14 hour day on my birthday, but I did. So there's that. The odd thing - at least to me anyway - was that I wasn't bothered by this reality. Of course, I could have done with maybe a little less physical exhaustion, but that's the name of the game. And sure, I wasn't home to be with my family, but, I WAS with family. Even with more than 150 people out on this tour, so many of them have become dear friends. And when you combine that many friends together, you become family. I'm not sure how many of them will ever see this, but for those who do, I'm so very thankful for you and your sweet friendship.

I should note, that I also share a birthday with Adam, a friend and fellow bus mate. So before I got off the bus at the crack of dawn - at least that's what it felt like - I left a wee note on the bus wall wishing him a happy birthday, as well as Abraham Lincoln, and reminded my dear boys to lock the doors, lest they wanted Abe to haunt them for keeping it unlocked.

After the morning and early afternoon had passed and everything was ready for the concert, I got "ready" for the night. Which meant brushing my teeth again, slapping on some deodorant, trying to make my hair presentable, and putting on clean clothing. I found my way to the volunteers, where I was given a delicious birthday coffee, was sung to by all of the volunteers (thank you Russ and Jonas) and subsequently turning bright red. I also got to quickly FaceTime my sweet boy Judsen (my 4 year old boyfriend back home) and listen to him sing to me while trying to play golf at the same time.

Doors opened, we started selling, I ate cotton candy dippin' dots (never again will I do that) and my sweet friends brought me a cheesecake with a candle and sang happy birthday. They all signed a card and wrote sweet messages and it was all I could do to not cry. I saved that for later when no one was around.

After the end of the night, I went to my bus to find all of the guys waiting with pizza and cake and a card wishing me and Adam a happy birthday. And again, I had to keep myself from crying since I'm on a bus with a bunch of dudes. They wrote me a punny card as I have done for them, and left sweet messages with terrifying pictures of animals inside and somehow it was one of the best cards I'd ever been given.

The oddities of the day added with being out on the road with family truly made for one of the best birthdays yet. And the wishes from back home filled my heart to the very top. I am so thankful for everyone who celebrated with me, in person, in text, via Facebook - from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about being only five years away from turning 30 - to be honest, it still kind of freaks me out. But, I know that God has a plan and He will provide. Maybe not when I would like, but things will come to fruition in His timing. I just have to be patient.

So here's to 25 - I pray that I will continue living this beautiful life God has given me to the absolute fullest, following His plan along the way, chasing after my dreams even more and eating way more cake. Because cake is good.


Four score and seven years ago,
Ellie