I am 27.

Family and friends, thank you for making “my day” wonderful. And by day, I mean extended weekend. Because I started celebrating on Thursday. At this point, I think I have 27 things to be thankful for, potentially more. My coworkers kicked off the party by treating me to lunch at Nando’s, where we dined on all things Peri-Peri flame-grilled chicken. After lunch I was further spoiled with cupcakes. While my peers were not quite willing to swap meals for desserts—my original birthday request was for donuts, ice cream, or pie, they still willingly satisfied my sweet tooth with Red Velvet Cupcakery.

As we moved one day closer to my birthday, I was one of four people (on my team) at the office. After refusing yet another lunch, my coworker—the same one who already paid for my cupcake—treated me to Starbucks. We all know my undying love for all things coffee, especially Starbucks! Free Starbucks! She was not satisfied with my standard—‘boring and lame’—Tall Iced Coffee order, upgrading me to a Grand Iced Latte. Thou shall not complain.

When the weekend eventually came… Boyfriend and I headed to Rice Paper to begin things right. The meal was spectacular as always. We lamented about the time that has passed since our last visit and how we will not, under any circumstance, allow for that to occur moving forward. I essentially ate myself into a food comma because I was passed out on the coach prior to 9:00 pm while God Loves Uganda played in the background.

My (actual) birthday was upon us. And it was time to celebrate, first with donuts! The clock struck 6:34 am… and I put my walking shoes on. Before I hit the door, Boyfriend wanted to fool-proof our plan to grab coffee at Filter Coffeehouse, then walk and pause for donuts at three close-ish shops. Walk. Sip. Eat. Repeat until Astro Donuts & Fried Chicken, Golden Brown Delicious (GBD), and Woodward Takeout Food (WTF) were all accounted for. This is when he learned Astro Donuts & Fried Chicken opens at 9:00 am, GBD unlocks at 10:00 am, and WTF is closed on weekends. Since I had plans to meet my parents at the Fish Market around the time of GBD’s opening, I “settled” for a Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, an Arlington establishment with respectable hours and a decent location. There were pastries of all kinds. When I finished my admiring and roaming, I no longer felt as though I was settling. I purchased four donuts. (I had to make up for Boyfriends pathetic order—one donut. Fact: He’s not a morning eater.) We got home, plated them. And I began my feast.

I made a quick trip to the farmers’ market after neglecting it for most of the summer. And also because I wanted to replicated the Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar experience from previous weekend in my backyard. This was mostly pretend play; my market has nothing on Baltimore. I purchased some pretty zucchini to perpetuate my love for Mel. And some peaches because I have not had fruit in days and my body is going into shock as a result. Just as the humidity increased, it was then time to board Metro for the Maine Avenue Fish Market. My parents met us moments after our arrival and shopping ensued. We were an indecisive bunch, ultimately deciding on two dozen Chincoteague oysters and a whole Red Snapper. I also thought an entire pound of ceviche was a good idea. We prepared a hefty meal and dined as though it were Thanksgiving at 1:00 pm on an August afternoon.

The eating continued at the wine and cheese party Boyfriend and I attended later that afternoon. S.A.K. brought donuts and A.J.S. made Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies to commemorate the occasion. (Of note, A.J.S. also made wheat thins. Also of note, she cooked about as much popcorn (and nothing else) as I did in Peace Corps. Oh—together—how far we’ve come!) Boyfriend and I partied WAY later than I intended, which meant I essentially went straight to the unmade bed I left at 6:34 am when I awoke.

I rose bright and early on Sunday to run forever before Six Flags. I was glad to have that crossed off the list first thing. In ever the rush, I stretched as Boyfriend packed our bag. Then we took off for the park, where we proceeded to spend the rest of the day in waterslide and rollercoaster glory. The day was awesome, although l-o-n-g. And altogether a grand success, especially considering we were not among the 24 unlucky passengers stranded on the Joker’s Jinx for hours.

To close the weekend, I lasted about three innings of the final game of the Atlanta Braves/Washington Nationals series before calling it a night. There was no need to sacrifice sleep in the name of poor baseball. First thing this morning—to my delight, I learned the Braves won. My birthday twin, Jason Heyward, did not receive a 'W' on our day (after a grueling three-hour and 41-minute rain delay and an extra innings loss); he did, however, take the birthday weekend series-win from our division rivals following an eight-game skid. We might indeed still have the Nationals' card.

Another workweek and year have arrived; Monday and 27 feel one and the same.