Hale Kilinahe: The Journal

AUGUST 11, 1998 So I turn 26 on Thursday. Every year I get older but this year I have a kid so I really feel like I'm getting older. Many people my age don't have children yet, and that makes me feel like I've really accomplished something special (even though maybe I haven't). But I've still managed to go 26 years without traveling very much, or trying very many new things. Now that I have a child, I probably won't get to travel for a very long time. Somehow 26 seems like I've gone over a hump. 25 was supposed to be the milestone, but for some reason 26 carries more weight. I'm clearly on my way to 30 now. By the time I'm 30, I hope I will have fulfilled my goal of being a chef. By that time, Katie will be four. I only hope she will on be a healthy, happy toddler. I want her to have everything. I want her to go to Kamehameha. And most of all, I want her to love her mom for exactly what she is. Whatever that is. And when Katie is 26, as I am now, I hope that in some way I've contributed to her becoming the beautiful, brilliant, charming woman that I know she will be. My mother was 26 when I was born, and somehow I can't see myself where she is today, in a big empty house with just her husband for company. This year there's something about my birthday that's really exciting. I haven't been this excited about birthdays since I was a little kid. I don't know why. I think it's knowing that in this one full year, between 25 and 26, I've grown up so much. Katie arrived, I got that promotion at work (insiginficant as that is), and I'm married. It's my first birthday married. < BACK | TOP | NEXT >