Three Amigos

My brothers thought I was kidding. That’s all you want for your birthday?

It’s another year in transition, which means I’ve been packing and unpacking boxes for a few months now. Clothes, books, junk, stuff. Living like a nomad has erased my desire to make a birthday list like I did when I was little. Now it's less about the getting and more about the doing.

Sure, there are things I want – an iPod, a shopping spree, a lifetime membership at Chipotle. Mmm. Chipotle. But there are things I need – new brakes for my car, an eye appointment and new lenses, the discipline to keep my student debt as low as possible.

None of the wants could outweigh my want and need for a dance with each of my brothers this weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday together for a family wedding in Duluth – dancing, laughing, eating and catching up. On the dance floor they confided about girls or vocation and I admitted that I’ve been listening to country music since returning from internship. (A true confession where Gabe and Bror are concerned.)

Our best audience - those who think we're funniest and those who hold us accountable - is each other. We got the giggles (and I got hiccups) and then we ordered sandwiches from the hotel. That was the best present they could have given me – some time together as we continue becoming grown ups. It was a moment in our chaotic lives when clearing a weekend and having a dance was trump.