The quarter-century club

First and foremost, I have to say how very pleased I was to receive so many thoughtful birthday greetings! It speaks not only to how many friends I have, but also to the quality of friends I have and am lucky to know. God bless you, one and all! Thank you for the creativity (Stefa, Dan, Shannon...LOVED yours in particular), the humor (JJ, Maggie), the heartfelt wisdom and sincerity (Monique...well, really everyone :)), and so on. What did I do yesterday? I treated myself to a birthday lunch at Starlite (yes, got my usual cheeseburger and cheesecake c karamel'yu, I don't mind being a creature of habit, I am one after all, LOL), and then went for a walk at Tsaritsyno. Another recent blessing has been the terrific weather we've had lately. Thanks to sunshine and mild temperatures, the snow is at long last gone, hooray! But of course, as mom and dad know, snow will always be connected with me because I was born on a snowy April day, 25 years ago...

Today was an uneventful day, with the possible exception of having an unannounced test in linguistics. I don't think I did very well on the test, so I will have to make up for it by writing a good essay in preparation for seminar next week. I will probably take the tram home later, enjoy a leisurely evening of dinner and Vicar of Dibley, in preparation for tomorrow's epic day of choir, in which I hope the level of awkwardness that is me arriving way before the other tenors is kept to a minimum, and partying in the evening. I also can't wait for Sunday, as it is tradition to get a bar of chocolate in celebration of one's birthday, with the caveat that Fr. Simon takes great pride in humiliating every single person who dares to receive his/her chocolate. I'm sure Father Simon will say something on the lines of: "We congratulate our brother Jonathan on his birthday, an important member of the church choir, of the MPC choir, and about 5 other choirs in Moscow..." Something to that effect, haha. Oh well, for chocolate it's worth it. ;)

As I turn 25, I can't help but reflect on all that I"ve been through, both the bad: 9/11, the death of my beloved grandmother Meme and other close family friends, being mugged in St. Petersburg and dealing with an overly hostile choir director, the recent Moscow bombings, falling in and out of love quicker than I would have likcd, long periods of feeling abandoned and alone, and, more importantly for me, the good: graduating from my dream school, Holy Cross, during which I made some lifelong friends for whom I would gladly lay down my life, grad school in Middlebury and Russia, where I am putting my knowledge of Russian grammar to the test through daily contact with Russian and the writing of many papers, including my thesis, which I shall defend this summer, learning to really like myself and appreciate what I can do as opposed to regretting what I cannot, discovering a love of singing while still nurturing a long-developed love of piano (and now composing), hanging out with amazing people and finding time for reading, prayer and spending time outside in the beauty of God's creation, nature. I am truly blessed to have a God looking out for me, to be part of a loving family, to give and receive love in kind without any preconditions, to know so many brilliant, kind, talented, funny, compassionate friends, which leads to awe-inspiring, hilarious, humbling, unforgettable conversations. These are the people I want to be with, today and for all days.

Thanks again for a lovely 25th birthday. Will see some of you tomorrow, most everyone else in just a couple months' time! I don't know about you, but I'm WICKED pumped to go home. As great a time as I'm having in Russia, a part of me feels that it's time to move on and think about work in the States, that is, after one more idyllic summer at Middlebury with the Russian Choir , evenings playing the piano or watching a serial on Saturday nights till the early hours of the morning and hoping that thesis will be well-received. So much in store for the future, but so much to appreciate here and now, in the moment. :) What a glorious feeling it is to be 25! How great it is to truly be alive, to be a part of God's creation! My wish for you is to be part of the creation, to do something that makes you feel truly alive, that you are so passionate about. Go out to love and serve the Lord, we are told as the end of the liturgy. Go out and live. Thank you and God bless.