Birthday Bouquets

Tomorrow I turn 26. All week has been reminding me so, as the trees around campus have blossomed with their beautiful white blooms. The dogwoods bloom every year right before my birthday, and I mean right before- like a couple days, and always the week of.

I don't know that I would pay so close attention to the timing, except for one flirtatious, sweet comment five years ago that I haven't ever forgotten...

Five years ago today, Neal and I were both college students at Moody, and he was about a week away from asking me to be his girlfriend. The weather was warming and the plaza was the perfect place to smile and talk and laugh and tell stories about our day and make nonchalant plans to hopefully see each other the following one. It was there in the plaza that Neal said one day, "You know, those trees are going to bloom on your birthday."

I laughed and smiled inside and out, still so excited that he finally liked me. Even now, I can feel my heart squeeze in a smile as I remember it. "No, I'm serious," he said. "Wait, you'll see."

For the next week or so, I watched and waited and much to my delight, it soon became apparent that he was right. My birthday came, the trees bloomed, and we went out on our first "dinner-date." For all the moments in life that don't actually turn out to be magical, my 21st birthday truly was. I was so happy then that Neal was just coming into my life, and now on my 26th, I'm so thankful he's been in my life ever since. And always will be.

And I think I might be just as happy and excited that tomorrow he's taking me out for breakfast as I was about that first birthday date five years ago.

Here are the lovely birthday bouquets this week. Enjoy! Mom, Tiff, and Lilly will be here tomorrow to see the blooms in person, and I can't wait!