11-19-2001

If you haven't entered my giveaway, you've still got time! Go here to leave a comment with a birthday memory for a chance to win a $25 gift card to either Starbucks or Barnes & Noble!
{The contest closes at midnight tonight.}
Now, onto a birthday memory of my very own:

Mine isn't anything too spectacular, but it's always the first one to pop into my head. It was my 17th birthday; I was a Senior in high school. I'd transferred high schools that year and felt very sad as my big day approached. Obviously I had no good friends yet at the school and had convinced myself that the day would go by without much fanfare. I was greeted with hugs and kisses by my parents that morning, and then my brother and I climbed into the crew-cab Ford F-350 that we drove around in our teen years. Off we went.

My expectations got blown out of the water. The handful of people I'd befriended in the few months since school started went out of their way to celebrate for me. I got balloons, presents, more hugs! It was like a scene from a greeting card commercial, and I loved every minute of it. They treated me like I'd grown up in their small town right alongside them, and the memory of that day always makes me smile. It was true community at its best.