january 22nd, 2005, edinburgh, scotland

Aging train

Yesterday was a day for lasts and today a day for firsts.

Yesterday was my last day of work at Free Spirit; yesterday was my last day in York where I have been living and working for the past two months. Last night I packed my bags and hopped on a train in York when I was 19; I disembarked that train in Edinburgh when I was 20.
Today is my birthday.
Today is my New Years day.
Today is when I consider my slate wiped clean.
Today I can officially account anything stupid done previously, to the fact that I was 19.
That is, until I do something else.
Today, I woke-up feeling great to be alive because today is my day.

Then I shaved my legs.

While sitting on the train, watching myself age before my eyes; I realised how much the ride represented my life. I am always getting older. I am now ten seconds older than I was when I wrote that last sentence.

And now that.

And so on.

I will always be older when I step off the train than I was when I embarked but there is only one day a year to mark this.

One day a year when you realise, "Shit, I'm getting old."

We act as if it happened with a bang.

While really it's been happening it all along.

But despite all this, January 22nd is, and always will be my day

(quirky fact: January 22nd is also National Popcorn day...don't ask me how I know this)

and I love it.

Today is wonderful.
Today is beautiful.
Today will be great.
It better be, or let me tell you, there will be hell to pay.

Because, today is my day, and nobody is going to take that away from me.