Somewhere Between Acorn and Oak

Today we dined at New World Tortilla on Pine Street. I love their fresh, hand-made corn tortillas, and Matea enjoys the curry tortilla. Towards the end of the meal, Matea noticed a strange guy who seemed to be staring at her. Though she didn’t recognize him, it turned out to be our old neighbor Greg, who lived above us on Decatur Street in the first house we rented in Burlington. He lived with two roommates, Jay and Megan, who we still see occasionally. We truthfully didn’t interact with them much, though we did watch their cat for a week while they were away (which, in turn, introduced us to our favorite pizza, Junior’s, via a thank-you gift certificate). Anyway, it turns out that Greg seems much nicer and more talkative than he did back then. He’s married, and so are Jay and Megan (to each other). The crazy part was that Greg had lived above us for a year or so, then we moved out and he lived in Boston for five years before moving back to Vermont recently. I can’t believe we’ve lived here long enough to run into someone we knew before they moved away for five years! But the truth is that we’ve spent most of our adult lives here. We moved here at age 23, and May marked our 7th year in the Green Mountain State.

Tonight we’re going with friends to belatedly celebrate my 30th birthday, so maybe that’s why this being-an-adult epiphany has finally hit me. Though I could come up with a much lengthier list of reasons I am still child-like, here are some recent warnings that I am slowly reaching adult maturity:

1. Last night I edged along the driveway, and I was as proud of that as a 3 year old is a finger painting. I wanted to take a picture of my edging and display it on the refrigerator. A similar warning sign was the fact that I also swept the entire driveway. After swearing as a teenager that I would never even clean my room as an adult, I surely never thought I would be sweeping the driveway!

2. I ordered soup for lunch today. And I eat kale, even when no one’s watching.

3. I am usually out of bed in the seven o’clock hour on weekends.

4. There is no greater happiness every day than the moment my head hits my pillow.

5. Last month I voted at my first neighborhood association meeting and had a serious conversation about waste water compliance.

6. I’m planting my first vegetable garden on Wed evening.

7. I was jealous yesterday of a retired coworker who is taking some UVM mini-courses meant only for those 50 and older.

Anyway, I’m proud to have already established a “history” here. I love Vermont. I love weeding the flower beds. I love vacuuming the baseboards. I love doing favors for my mother-in-law (and do not take having a mother-in-law for granted). I love walking the dogs, even when it rains. I LOVE trash night. I love emptying the dishwasher. I love tinkering in the garage. I excitedly bought myself a wheelbarrow with my Nana’s birthday check. I suggested to Matea that we attend the opera next month.

Oh, youthful Chrissy. I’ve left you behind somewhere along the way and didn’t even know it. I will think kindly of you from time to time. And I promise to write.