I threw myself at him, nearly knocking him into a tree. I grabbed his face in my hands and couldn’t stop kissing him, so happy I thought I’d float away.
“Dad! How many times do I have to remind you of the rules? What I wouldn’tgiveto be abducted by aliens right now.”
I let go of Alex, finding Greyson and the others a few feet away. “I told you I couldn’t abide by the rules, Grey,” Alex said, and pulled me to his side.
Greyson rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too.
We spent the day traveling through each of the countries Epcot had to offer, stopping for photos in front of each pavilion and eating our way around the world. We had macarons in France and baklava in Morocco. In Japan, Nina, Alex, and I had sake, while the girls slurped down rainbow shaved ice. By the time we stopped to eat lunch, I was so full I swore I’d never eat again.
“This is it!” Kitty said, skipping ahead as we passed the border between China and Norway, the last of the countries I needed to get to ten and check the final item off the list.
“Here,” Alex said. He pulled out his phone as the rest of us stood in front of a replica of the Gol Stave church.
“How do you say ‘cheese’ in Dutch?” I asked.
“We’re in Norway,” Kitty said. “They speak Norwegian.”
“Right. I knew that.”
As the sun set, we squeezed into the crowd of tourists around the World Showcase Lagoon, finding the perfect spot to view the fireworks moments before they began. Nina pulled out a selfie stick from her fun bag and took pictures with the girls, who murmured excitedly with each shimmer of light. A rainbow glow shone on Mia’s and Kitty’s faces, and I was grateful for this one moment in which their pain was dulled completely. Another firework cracked to life above the water, and as I turned to watch it burst and fizzle in the sky, my eyes fell on Alex beside me, who was looking not at the girls or the fireworks, but back at me. He pressed a kiss to my hair, and I rested my weight against him, my heart thundering in time with each explosion of color above us.
XO, Jo: Blog Post #31
August 24
Happy Birthday (Eve) to me, confessions, and the future ofXO, Jo
Hello, readers!
Tomorrow is the day you’ve all been following me for—my thirtieth birthday! Last you heard, I only had two items left: get a tattoo and visit ten countries. I can practically hear you asking,Did you do it? Did you check off every item on the list?
I have a confession to make, dear readers. I’ve been keeping a secret from you (many secrets, actually). Despite the optimism you’ve seen on this blog, I was 100% certain I wouldn’t be able to finish the list when I returned home from charter season in June. I was heartbroken, but not because of the blog or my personal #lifegoals. I was heartbroken because of my nephew, Samson.
And here’s my biggest confession: I lied to you about the reason I disappeared during charter season. I didn’t want to talk about it, because I thought it was too sad. You come here for lighthearted adventure, right? And besides, I wasn’t able to talk to my family and friends about what had happened, let alone the internet.
Some of you may remember my nephew from my post onItem #7—Start a garden.You may remember how he busted me for my blog and gave me a crash course in Gardening 101. But you didn’t know Samson loved baseball and adored his older sisters. You didn’tknow he had so much energy he drove his parents to exhaustion. You didn’t know he and I shared the same birthday.
One month into charter season, Samson passed away unexpectedly. The loss devastated me, and I didn’t have the energy to blog or check off items on the list. Not until my nieces arrived. Mia and Kitty begged to help finish the list, and though none of us said it, we knew we were doing this for Samson, who was as gentle as he was energetic, as adventurous as he was kind. All summer as I worked on the list, I kept thinking,What would I have to show him on this first birthday without him? What could be a better gift than making the most of my time, time he didn’t get?
But it turns out finishing the list wasn’t the best gift I could give him on what would’ve been his twelfth birthday. The best gift was something that took me all summer to figure out: letting others in, being as open with my heart as he’d been with his, talking about him and how much he meant to me, even though it hurts. So that’s what I’m doing now. Happy birthday, Sam. I love you and miss you more than you could ever know.
But to answer your question. Yes, I finished the list, just not in the way I’d planned.
To explain, I need to divulge my last secret. Deep breath, everyone.
I’m dating both Hot Guy from the BarandHot Single Dad. Now, before you accuse me (or congratulate me) on my sudden influx of boyfriends, I have to confess that Hot Guy from the Bar and Hot Single Dad are the same guy. Oh, and he’s also my coworker. He’s asked to go by Hot Yacht Chef from now on (feel free to eye roll), and yes, he’s the guy who was wearing the sassy mom shirt in my post onItem #25—Sleep in a castle. (Don’t think I didn’t read your comments objectifying him in his crop top.)
I’d gotten my tattoo (be on the lookout for that post soon), but with two weeks to go before my birthday, I’d lost all hope of checkingoff those final five countries. But last Saturday, Hot Yacht Chef forced me to get up at an ungodly hour and pile into his man van (yes, he drives a van) with BFF Nina, my nieces, and his daughter. I had no clue where we were going, but four hours later, I found myself at Epcot and checked off not five, but eight new countries. Goal. Smashed. (I’ll have the full details for you as soon as I finish celebrating.)
What’s next forXO, Jonow that my journey to thirty is at an end? My nieces think I should turn this into a travel blog. Hot Yacht Chef thinks a blog in which I chronicle my attempts at cooking would be hilarious. (I disagree. It would be sad.) BFF Nina suggested a decade-long forty-by-forty list, but just thinking about it stresses me out. All I can tell you is I’m not sure what the next chapter of my internet life or real life holds. But I know that no matter what, I won’t be alone through any of it.
Thank you, dear readers, for accompanying me on this journey, and I’ll see you soon for whatever’s next.
XO, Jo
Twenty-Three
On the morning of my thirtieth birthday, Mia and Kitty woke me with an enthusiastic round of “Happy Birthday,” then pinned me down and wrangled a sleep mask over my face.
