It makes sense, in a rather lovely way, that what I thought would be my final post about Vida Vegan Con 2013 is, instead, a post about the birthday breakfast Gena treated me to on #VVC2013′s final day. It makes sense, you see, because I’m typing this from Gena’s apartment in Washington, D.C., where just a few days ago we celebrated her birthday, too.
Gena posted a beautiful, eloquent, inspiring piece about her 31st birthday on her blog, and so much of what she wrote sang through and into me, because the words could have been from my heart, too. When she wrote: “Nowadays, I’m starting to love the fact that I don’t know exactly where I’ll be in a year, or five. Life feels exciting, and full of possibility”, I thought, yes. Yes. And I was reminded of this post of mine where, several months ago, I wrote: “I am in love with knowing that life right now is an unfolding universe of possibility. I am in love with having no idea where I’ll be in six months time, because this means I can give myself entirely to the mystery and magic of opportunity. Every single note of my being is singing that I am exactly where I want to be.”
Is it any wonder that my throat is already starting to hurt when I think about how my current week with Gena is almost over? I don’t want to think about it. So, instead, I’ll think back to when she took me to Prasad in Portland for breakfast on the 26th of May, my 26th birthday, the birthday that finally broke the curse of my birthday with perfect friendship, emerald juice, and sweet rich nourishing deliciousness.
Gena and I each started our day with The Rita, a stunningly green juice comprised of celery, cucumber, spinach, kale, parsley, mint, and lime. I shan’t lie; it was green. But so are my eyes, and thus everything made sense. Right? Right, Rita.
In fact, Gena and I were so in sync with our tastes that we found ourselves each asking for the teff toast with almond butter and fruit, yet were immediately informed that Prasad was out of bread (at 9:30am on a Sunday morning…). After a brief pow-wow, we decided to order two different dishes to split between us and, of course, found again that we had our eyes on the exact same two dishes. (#sharebrain)
Behold, Prasad’s Classic Oatmeal, a made-to-order bowl of gluten free oats, dried figs and currants, Brazil nuts, fresh fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup!
And behold, Prasad’s Fresh Fruit Plate served with vanilla cashew cream, almond butter, hemp seeds, and goji berries!
Alone, each of these dishes would have been wondrous enough, what with the creamy oats, crunchy nuts, ripe and chewy dried fruit, heavenly creamy sweetened cashew cream, and buttery thick almond butter. However, let’s be honest:
A birthday girl needs a little more excitement to her birthday breakfast.
And so Gena and I played Robin Hood with our two breakfast dishes by stealing from the rich (vanilla cashew cream and almond butter) and giving to the poor (the oatmeal). Ta-daa! Warm nutty creamy oats topped with swirls of melting almond butter, pools of maple syrup, and drizzles of luscious cashew cream.
As lovely and smile-creating as the breakfast itself was, nothing compared to the joy and good omen of spending the first bright sparkling morning of this next year of my life with Gena, whose friendship means more to me than all the chocolate in the world.
And so, 26. When I think back to everything that transpired during my year of being 25 — quitting my job, moving sight-unseen to Canada on what was partly a whim and partly a necessity for breath and life, beginning a new career, surviving six months of winter, travelling around the US for months and months, both reconnecting with and meeting all kinds of people I can no longer bear to live without, knowing completely and utterly that I am radiantly happy with where I am no matter the challenges, seen and unseen, that lie before me — I think, no, I know, that 26 is going to be even greater. I’m going to try more, learn more, dare more, risk more, laugh more, kiss more, become more, reach for more, pick myself up more, hug more, breathe more, hope more, be more.
I can’t wait.
