This year has brought so much new growth and change in body, mind, and spirit. I have been anxiously observing my 30th birthday approaching and wondering if I should just celebrate 29 again? They say your 30s are better than your 20s...do I believe what they say?
Kris and I were so excited to return to Lake Winchester, which we fondly refer to as "Winnie", to celebrate 30 revolutions around the sun. We take advantage of getting some pictures when we see each other because reminiscing on these pictures down the road brings us both great joy.
Kris puts up with my insistent requests for "just a few more photos" and humors me when throwing out ideas for some new poses. Sometimes they don't always go as planned...
I haven't laughed this hard in such a long time. We were both crying we were laughing so hard. I think I may have almost choked her out but we both survived.
...Because what is 30 without a photoshoot in a fur coat?
And also, what is 30 without your best girl friend by your side?
Once, and only once we were losing sunlight, we headed back to the homestead to build a fire for the evening. Kris is always the designated fire-builder, and she does a good job every single time. She always packs the little things, that make staying away from home feel like home. She never forgets the turtle string lights to hang over the doorway of our humble abode.
No campfire is complete without hot dogs roasted on sticks and a couple of adult beverages (because now we're 30). After we had gorged ourselves on food, we talked endlessly, reminiscing on our years as roommates, funny memories, and the ways we are growing into 30. Next thing we know, 3 of the ice fishermen staying at the yurt next door stumble into our camp and offer us this amazing homemade dish they made- beef and chicken, asking if we were "the girls with the hats" they saw walking around earlier.
Kris and I agreed that the lesson we learned from this interaction was that each time we have stayed a this campground we have been showered with kindness from other campers, being offered fire-starters, cupcakes, and now this amazing feast of meats seasoned to perfection. We were sad that we didn't have much to provide in return for this kind gesture. Its wonderful how everyone in the campground seems to band together with a common goal- survival, even in this modern age. There's just something about living like a pioneer that makes community seem more comforting.
When the last of the embers were dying down, and our shins were feeling scorched from the heat of the fire, we headed into the yurt. Kris shared with me some of the skills involved in bullet journaling, and we had our evening tea before climbing into our bunk beds. In my opinion, there's nothing that feels more like the summer camp of our childhoods than bunk beds.
After a restful sleep under the full (worm) moon and the bright stars that we could easily view through the skylight in our yurt, we hopped out of bed and did a sunrise meditation and yoga sequence to warm up the old 30 year-old hips before an afternoon of snowshoeing.
The afternoon snowshoe was brought to you by coco whip atop coffee, pancakes with fresh berries, sunbutter and a maple syrup drizzle. Yes, now we are both drooling at the thought...
After breakfast, we packed up the yurt and kicked up some snow walking around Lake Winnie.
It was a gorgeous, blue-bird day, with hardly a cloud in the sky. Much of the North Idaho snow we tromped through was still untouched- just the way we like it.
Just a couple of gals blazing trails into 30.
If you've seen my previous post about Lake Winnie, you may notice that this place seems to bring up so much gratitude for friendships and reflection on why things happen the way that they do. Why the friends that enter your life, arrive, and why each stays or wanders off.
Lake Winnie seems to call for odes to friendship, as I had one in my last post as well- but I truly hope that all reading this, have found a friend like Kris. She pushes me to grow and expand the borders of myself, get comfortable with discomfort, choose joy and play whenever possible. It's never too late, and you're never too old, for play. My smile and laugh lines spread further across my face with each day that she's a constant in my life. And, if I've learned anything in working with my geriatric patients each day, it's this:
don't ever let your biggest regret in life be that you turned down opportunities to exercise that joy muscle and expand those laugh lines on your face- those are the shimmering trophies of a life lived fully.
This is 30.
March 2019.