20 Years

Well, yesterday was my 20th birthday. I am now officially out of my teens. Goodbye teenage years. This year’s birthday was one to remember. In all of my years, it has never snowed on my birthday, but this year I woke up to a beautiful snow fall. Also, there was some howling wind, but that part is not a surprise. As it got closer to my birthday, I started to think back on my previous birthdays.

On my first birthday, I received what would later become my favorite thing in the whole wide world. My Poppie Donnie gave me my very first baby doll, which would later be named Baby Brett after my brother. I loved that doll and I even still have it. My mom is saving it for her grandchildren. Even if my mom was not saving my doll, I still would hold on to it.

I remember this birthday like it was yesterday. For this particular birthday, I only wanted realistic accessories for my baby dolls. My mom and dad did just that. They got me a walker and a stroller with a baby carrier for my baby dolls. I can still remember how excited I got opening my gifts. What my mom did not know is that this birthday fed my growing obsession with baby dolls. That following Christmas, I asked for a real baby, not a baby doll. I wanted my own baby to play with, dress up, and take with me everywhere I went. Now I did not get a real baby, but our really close family friends adopted a newborn baby. I got to dress her up, and I even got to push her in my baby doll stroller.

Sweet 16, the birthday that everyone looks forward to because you finally get your license. I did not get my license on this day, though. I did not look forward to getting my license at all. My mom forced me to take drivers ed and forced me to learn to drive. I personally enjoyed not driving. I did not want to learn how to drive; it scared me. After about 4 years of driving, I have now decided that driving is fun.

My 18th birthday was one of my favorites. I had been waiting for this birthday because my mom and I had plans to get matching tattoos. So after class that day, I went to the DPS Office and renewed my license, and  then I met my mom to get our tattoos. My mom had a tattoo already and she knew what the pain was like. I was new to the party, but my first tattoo did not hurt that bad. I mean it could not have hurt too bad because now I have three:)

Now on to my 20th Birthday – like I mentioned above, never once has it snowed on my birthday. To add to the fun, we also woke up that morning to a power outage. Thankfully, we got it back in time to cook my birthday lunch. My favorite thing about birthdays is getting to dress up. This year, though, I did not get to wear a cute dress or cute sandals. I got to wear jeans, a cardigan, and my UGG boots. Not exactly what I imagined myself wearing for my spring birthday, but hey, that is Panhandle weather for you!

-Natalie Ponder