Parents and a birthday!

I'm currently sitting in Cafe Passe, one of my favorite coffeeshops in Tucson, listening to a really great solo guitarist playing everything from Bon Iver to what sounds like Brazilian music. A great place to update my blog.

In February I was lucky enough to have my own parents come visit! First we took a trip up to the Grand Canyon, which was absolutely beautiful because it was snowing there!

Then we drove back to Tucson and I got to introduce them to my house, casa mates, and the food bank. There was so much to see, and so many people to meet, but I tried to not overwhelm them (or myself) by planning too much. I had a great time with them. Some of the highlights for me were introducing them to Casa Mariposa, the intentional community we frequent on Wednesday evenings, showing them around the food bank's farm, and enjoying a delicious breakfast they made in our house. I love you two!

The week after they left, my house plus some of our other volunteer friends hiked Picacho Peak, an imposing rock jutting out of the ground about an hour north of Tucson. I had heard the hike was tough, but I was still surprised when we had to climb steep inclines using cables as supports. Gloves are definitely a good idea for this one.

And for my last installment in this blog, I recently turned 24 years old, and have had several small celebrations, which has been a lot of fun. My housemates - oh they know me well - bought me some beautiful greens and veggies from the local food cooperative. Swiss chard and purple kale. Delicious.

Also at work, my coworker Dulce got me an ice cream cake! I shared it with the staff.

So, as is usual around my birthday, I've been thinking more about my life. Is 24 young? Old? It depends on who you ask, I learned. Compared to my coworkers, I'm still fairly young, not even at the quarter-century mark. Compared to most of my volunteer friends, I'm on the older side of things, however. And to me, I'm wondering where the years went! Wasn't it just a little while since I was in El Salvador? Was that really over two years ago? Is it time I decide to find a job that makes me a living, or am I ok being the "old guy" doing JVC for another year? That's a question I've been asking myself recently, and I think my answer is, yes, I'm okay with that. In fact, I have reapplied for a second year of JVC. I won't be in Tucson again, that much is for sure. It was a hard decision, because Tucson is a great place, as is the food bank, but I finally decided I wanted to go someplace new. Where that is, exactly, I don't know yet, but I'll post it here as soon as I do!