Column: Birthday Reflections from a Davidson County Girl

Birthdays have a funny way of sneaking up on you — one minute you’re blowing out candles and wishing for a Cabbage Patch doll, and the next you’re checking your blood pressure and wondering why your left leg has a forecast more reliable than the weather app.

This year, I’ve been thinking about what it means to grow older right here in Davidson County — the place that raised me, stretched me, and still manages to surprise me. Around here, age isn’t measured by wrinkles or gray hairs; it’s counted in summers at High Rock Lake, barbecue festivals more than celebrated — the kind that test your stamina, your restaurant loyalty, and your ability to wave at everyone you’ve ever known without dropping your sandwich — and how many times you’ve said, “I remember when that was just a field.”

When I was younger, I thought growing up meant getting out. Turns out, it meant growing roots deep enough to love this place in all its contradictions. Davidson County is part grit, part grace — the kind of place where folks still wave at stop signs, where gossip travels faster than broadband, and where faith, food, and sports still run the calendar.

This birthday, I’m not counting candles. I’m counting blessings that show up like old friends — unexpected, familiar, and right on time. I’m heading to a Ravens game with a great family and a partner who works in the funeral business. Maybe that sounds strange to some folks, but I’ve learned that people who work around death tend to understand life a little better. They laugh louder, hug longer, and don’t waste time pretending forever is promised. And as I pack my bag, I can’t help but think of Poe — and The Raven that’s come to ride shotgun in my own story — a reminder that even in the shadow of loss, there’s beauty, there’s flight, and there’s always something worth saying “forevermore” to.

And let’s be honest — bucket lists aren’t really about dying; they’re about living while you still can. My good friend likes to remind me, “None of us are making it out of here alive, but by God’s grace, we’re making it fun.”

So here’s to another year of being a Davidson County girl — tough enough to handle the hard stuff, soft enough to still find beauty in the backroads, and grateful enough to know that life — like a Ravens game — is better when you aren’t expected to win but you’ve got good people on your side of the field.

I thank God for the grace that keeps me and the loved ones who’ve gone before me — they’re still teaching me how to live well from the other side.