25

(If you want substantial content, come back tomorrow, or scroll down and read my previous post titled "Saying Goodbye" - there's good stuff in that one if I do say so myself. If you just want rambling thoughts about birthdays, oddly named desserts, and a "quarter-century crisis", this post is for you!)

Today is my 25th birthday.

It's been a bit of a wild year. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of downs. Lots of changes. Some beautiful new things, and the seeming death (or process of dying) of some old things that I'd thought were beautiful. I'm feeling a bit lonely and melancholy this morning as I reflect on some of the things that have happened.

But I'm really excited to be 25. No. Really. 25 seems like the age when all those people who've still been treating you like you're 15 have to suddenly realize that you're an adult, and maybe even start treating you like one.

My co-workers will celebrate with me at coffee break. "Sex in a Pan". Have you ever eaten this dessert? Layers of whipped cream and cream cheese and chocolate and vanilla pudding. Basically it's to die for. It's also the worst nightmare for the stomach of someone who is lactose intolerant. But I don't care! Bring on the stomach ache... it'll be worth it!

(Also, my best friend and I have an ongoing debate over what to call this particular dessert when you make it for a church potluck dinner. Neither of our somewhat more conservative backgrounds will let us call it "sex in a pan" at a church function. The baptist cookbook she grew up with calls it "pudding cake" and I grew up calling it "creamy chocolate dessert" which was generally abbreviated by friends and family to "creamy chocolate." I remember the day that I discovered that this was not the "official" name for this dessert. My mistake was confronting my mother over this igredious change of name. Her response was one of those things that you just never want to hear coming out of the mouth of one of your parents. "I don't know why they call it that. It's not that good!")

My parents will feed me dinner tonight. And then my roommate and I are going to see a movie.

I told a friend yesterday that I was looking forward to today for one reason only. Today I can officially say that all the drama of these last months has just been a "quarter-century crisis". Seriously, did you know that you can have those now? No more waiting for middle age. Get yourself into crisis mode at 25. I read about it in TIME magazine a while back, so it must be true, right?