29

Whew! One more year until I hit 30. Or... 50 more minutes. What's been new this year? Steven and I spent an amazing 1st/3rd Anniversary in Montreal in August. We spent Christmas in Mexico with my parents and relatives. Winter was cold. I commited to and succeeded in losing the last 10 pounds of "baby weight" and have been running faster than I ever have before. Our son has turned into a little person (a mini Stemily, I might say) and delights us every single day.

 

 

 I don't have a lot of major events for this year, so I am going to lead into my thirtieth year with a countdown.

 

Top 10 Reasons I Know I'm Getting Old

 

10. I have aches and pains.

I have aches and pains, sometimes persistent, in my back, feet, and now jaw. I’ve been mostly treated, but feel like I'm adult enough now that things will just hurt... forever.

9. Along the same lines as #10, I sometimes groan when I stand up,

as is this is a difficult task. Meanwhile, my son runs everywhere and practically leaps when going from sitting to standing, always ready to jump into the next bit of action.

8. Even more embarrassingly, I sometimes belch unexpectedly or otherwise hear sounds come out of my body that I did not plan.

I always found this quality embarrassing in other people, and though it was a lack of social awareness that they let such things slip. Maybe it is, or maybe some functions are just less controlled the older you get. Either way, this is a problem.

7. I worry. A lot. Everything from discovering a dead body while on a run to becoming a dead body while on a run, and every sickness, accident, or other unfortunate event you can imagine happening to yourself or your loved ones. I haven't reached the worry level of my mother (yet), but the older I get, the more there seems to be to lose.

6. Speaking of my mother, I am kind of turning into her. When I was young, two things I hated hearing were "be careful," (because it was said a million times a day, and inevitably would be the retrospective caution after some bout of clumsiness) and "be nice" (once again, said a million times and day and frustratingly a difficult habit to break when the circumstances demanded it). Now I catch myself saying these exact words daily. Also, smothering my son with love every five minutes and insisting on calling him my baby for as long as I'd like.

5. I get dizzy. Being younger, it was easy(ish) to dominate roller coasters, cartwheels, free falls, and any other number of action packed thrills. Now I literally get sick to my stomach if I do a sommersault in the pool. Someone told me this has something to do with your ears and changes as you get older.

4. I am disgruntled by today’s youth. I am consistently shocked by what happens at what age these days. "When I was that age" is not an uncommon refrain.

3. I feel more comfortable covered up. Although I feel better about this since getting back in a workout routine, I am mostly leaving behind my short skirts and spaghetti straps.

2. I keep a budget. I haven't mastered sticking to it yet, but I plan out months in advance and include savings and future planning.

1. I can be stingy with money, but I am also stingy with my time. I have noticed this most with my running schedule. Previously, I could commit to working up to 8+ mile runs, no problem. This time around, I see "8 miles" on my schedule and wrinkle my nose at the 75 minutes it will take out of my Sunday when I have a whole bunch of chores to finish before I can even wrap my head around doing something fun. Of course, I feel good when I do take the time and most of the expectations I have are things I put upon myself.

 

So, there it is. Heading into 30 and feeling old. It's all relative, though, isn't it? Coming tomorrow... feeling young.

28

If you haven’t done it, I highly recommend taking the roundabout way around the Life Plan. For example, instead of dating, getting engaged, getting married, moving in together, getting established in your jobs, and having kids, try dating, moving in together, getting pregnant, getting married, having a baby, getting established in your jobs, getting engaged, then getting married again.

I am so lucky to have such a supporting and loving family and family-in-law. At age 28, Steven and I were able to have our wedding celebration with friends and family. We worked for months on all the typical wedding things: venue, flowers, dress, attire, decorations, vendors, etc. I recruited support in the form of a bridal party representing different periods in my life: Jessa Vosburg-Allen, my friend since birth, Shawna Weeks, my freshman year college roommate, Allison Turcotte-VanGuilder, rugby teammate and sorority sister, and Sara Downing, my Boston buddy. I knew it was an interesting combination because no one really knew each other, and each girl had a unique personality and talents. They came together and I think half of my fun was seeing these quality women interact and the million laughs we had together.

The task of planning a wedding was daunting, and I am not normally a big planner (shocking, I know), but when it comes down to it, I learned that with the right people, I can pull it off.

Uncle Bob hosted the rehearsal dinner.

My sister-in-law's amazing cupcakes.

Napkin folding. I only went slightly bridezilla on this one.

Kingsland Bay State Park, Ferrisburg, Vermont. My dad, Isac, Steven, and others did all the day-of set up.

Cake, made by Steven and decorated by my mother-in-law and cousins.

Candy bar and uncle Bob's honey wine. Rustic signs painted by my aunt. Candy jars borrowed from our new friends/neighbors.



Pink, green, and orange. Family friend provided our beautiful flowers.

Allison's husband designed this memento.

New friend Ashley Clark-Fitzgerald came over at the last minute to help spray adhere these wedding program fans together.



Table names were places that were significant to me and Steven.

Of course, the best part was seeing everyone together, from Mexico, Hawaii, Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia, to New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, Steven and I were blessed with a whole lot of love on August 7, 2011. Unfortunately, none of which could surpass our love for each other. In the words of our first dance song, Lullabye by The Dixie Chicks,

They didn't have you where I come from. Never knew the best was yet to come... How long do you wanna be loved? Is forever enough... 'cause I'm never, never giving you up.

 

 



27

Well, let's see... what happened when I was 27? I was working my first full school year thanks to the FMLA and very understanding bosses. Steven and I were planning to have a wedding celebration exactly one year after our official marriage, but it turned out that was a little ambitious considering our life circumstances at the time. My family got to celebrate a big wedding that year anyway. My brother proposed to his girlfriend with personalized M&Ms and she said yes.

Let's go back in time for a minute to talk about my brother. Remember Isac? Born prematurely, 18 months after me and, in my parents' words, "like he was coming down a slide?" Well, Ike grew up. He had some scrawny years through school, but is now a lean, not so mean, workout machine in Correction Officer training. I guess Isac and I mostly got along, although there is a distinct lack of pictures of us together in our teen years, and in our early twenties, when we were living in different places. What I remember about Isac: He could be cranky and stubborn, a sore loser with a temper. He once got into an argument with my mom and slipped and cut open his head when he was stomping upstairs to his room. When they got to the doctor's, he was still mad, so he told the doctor my mom pushed him down the stairs. My parents claim that I loved being a big sister, but I distinctly remember writing "Isac Stahl" on the wall in our house in sloppy cursive, hoping to get him into trouble (amazingly, my plot did not work). I remember fighting for the front seat and Isac getting away with way more than I ever did. I also remember playing house, and restaurant, and soccer. I remember one day deciding we would try dressing as the opposite sex, which for me included putting on Isac's sweatpants, t-shirt, and baseball cap, and for him meant a floral dress. I remember playing Barbie and My Little Pony and Isac insisting I give him one of my ponies (I chose the ugliest one and acted like the best sister for giving it to him).

I suppose we went through a period of mostly ignoring each other until I went to college. One of the first times I was back home, I asked Isac if he wanted to go see a movie and he was highly surprised/suspicious that I wanted to hang out with him. Since then, it's been all good. From witnessing my rugby and sorority parties to hanging out in Boston and Fort Myers, to the occassional 5K or phone call, Isac and I now each live an hour away from our parents and two hours away from each other. Isac found himself a good girl, and they were married in September 2010.

 

 

26

I turned 26 shortly after finishing my Masters. I had applied for a few jobs at schools in the Boston area, and even applied for a position at NECC's sister school in Abu Dhabi. Steven and I were also discussing moves to Tennessee or Vermont. Ultimately preparing to get married and have a baby, we decided to move somewhere a little more affordable than the Boston suburbs, and somewhere closer to family. I applied for two jobs in the Burlington, Vermont area, and was hired rather quickly. I've always felt a little hippie at heart, and Vermont appealed to that side of me. Here's a desciption from hubpage.com:

Vermont is an Amazing Place

Vermont is a world apart from the one most people live in. The people of Vermont come from traditions that seem to have disappeared in other areas of the country. Honesty is not only admired it is a way of life. Organic is the norm. Exercise comes from daily chores and from the desire to live a healthier lifestyle. Micro Dairies sell raw milk to neighbors. Organic eggs can be bought on the honor system. Bartering is a normal part of life where one person hays the fields for their neighbors and rather than buying the hay, pays for it by plowing the driveway.

Town Meeting is not a televised, staged event for politicians. It is the way the citizens come together to make decision on how to run their own town. Little attention is paid to politicians that day. It is a day to think of how to care for the elderly, where to obtain gravel for the dirt roads and should the library expand into the basement or is it big enough already? Vermonters go out into the forest to pick fiddlehead ferns to sell at the Farmer's Markets which by the way are open year round despite the many months of winter. Vermonters grow cucumbers to make pickle recipes passed down for generations. Maple sap is gathered from century old trees and made into syrup.

All year round you will find fairs and festivals celebrating the artists, craftspeople, cultural heritage, innovations, and technology produced in Vermont.

From back to the land movements, to secessionist movements to staunch conservatives Vermont has a full range of thinkers, but thinkers who are willing to work politely and honestly together to create a wonderful community.

 

In many ways, the area is not that different from where I grew up, just an hour away across Lake Champlain in New York. We would often travel to Burlington, Plattsburgh, or Glens Falls for shopping, movies, and anything else our no-stoplight town lacked. I even had a Vermont cell phone number (the area code in all of Vermont is 802) from the time I was 18 and got my first cell phone at the Verizon Store on Shelburne Road. I never changed my number living in New York or Massachusetts, and it suits me perfectly, 11 years later, now that I am living here permanently. Although I still say the area code when I recite my number and the natives just raise their eyebrows expectantly at me ("Yes, 802. We know. Please continue."). 

 

So Steven and I got married at a lovely garden near our place, packed up and moved to Vermont. Our families are amazingly understanding and patient and their support helped through this year, through new jobs, buying our first place, settling in, and getting thrown into the whirlwind of impending parenthood. Our son, William Gabriel Grimes was born February 12, 2010 at 8:58PM, at Fletcher Allen hospital after 15 hours of labor. He was 19 3/4" long and weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. When I first saw him, I remember saying "He looks like Isac!" (my brother).

Mr. and Mrs.

 

Goodbye Watertown.

Hello Green Mountains!

Homeowners!

Come on, baby!

Gabe Grimes, 1 week old.

 

 

25

Age 25: At the time, a quarter of a century felt old! I remember complaining to the woman that one of my housemates was dating (they were both in their early thirties) the first year I was living in Natick (so age 22) how much I missed college life and couldn't totally imagine being as happy and having as much fun as I did there. She said that life is different as you get older, but in a way it's better because you are more settled and secure. You make your own money and your own decisions, and sometimes it's even nice to be on your own. I have to say, as I grew out of my early twenties, I have to agree. I was probably a little extra grumpy when I was complaining, anyways. It always takes me about a year to get used to living in a new place or undergoing a big transition before I feel truly content.

Hey, remember being little and thinking that people in their twenties were SO old? And imagining being like 25 and being married with kids and a house? Although I hardly felt old at the time, life circumstances led me to this path a little sooner than expected. At the end of my 25th year, I ran the Boston Marathon, finished my Masters, and got knocked up, in that order. It sounds a little vulgar to put it that way, but it was an unexpected and slightly scary, but ultimately wonderful surprise. I had the perfect partner in this. Steven and I both knew, individually, that we would one day get married and have kids and one of the first things he did was point this out, and then offer that "it's just happening a little sooner than we expected." Also, seeing my fear and tears, the very first word out of his mouth was "Awesome!" Then the next day, he came home with pink and blue noisemakers, cigars, and a baby doll to gift to me for the baby I was giving him. I've got quite a man.

 

Team NECC. We trained together and raised money for my school. 

I wore a tutu with puzzle pieces glued on. On each one, I wrote the name of a student I had worked with.

 

Surprise! 18 weeks pregnant.

24

When I was 24, I ran my first marathon. I started running when I was abroad in college, after my grandmother passed away. Although I always played sports, I never ran just to run. When I started, it was  a great way to process my first big loss. I thought I would eventually run a marathon in my grandmother's memory.

I loved my runs in Vienna. I would run from my apartment through the park at the Prater.

Actually, wherever I've lived and run, I have come to love the routes I've found, from the busy Vienna streets, to runs along the Charles River in Boston, to the big hills in the Adirondacks, there is something about the view and the memories from hours on foot that bonds you to those places. I really enjoy running as a sport, hobby, and stress management technique. It's the easiest way to exercise, when you can just lace up your shoes and head out the door. Distance running is also a good hobby for someone with a slightly obsessive personality. I've never been a super speedy athlete, but I do have some good endurance, and I love the feeling of going through the training and being in shape to run 20+ miles. It tickles me to think of a long distance, a distance that is normally traveled in a car, between a few different towns, say, and think "Yeah. I could run that."
 
So my first marathon was November 2007 at the Manchester Marathon in New Hampshire. My parents weren’t there to witness (they were on a Fulbright teacher’s exchange in Chile my dad secured), so my uncle Bob, my brother, and Steven represented.

They brought bikes and rode with me on parts of the race, and rode ahead and cheered me on at other points. It was perfect. Bob took some awesome photos, while Steven and Isac complained about how sore their legs were afterwards from biking.

I ran with the redheaded girl behind me until she finished at the half.

I ran probably six miles with the guy in the red shirt.

Thanks for the support, guys!