Rhea Sunshine

Things I regret now that I'm 29

This week I turn 29 years old. Typically, celebrating my birthday has always been a positive experience for me. I would make a countdown starting at the beginning of the month and announce to my family everyday how many days were left until my special day. This year however my birthday is joined with a bitter sadness as we held a funeral for my step dad who attempted suicide this year after a hard and tragic struggle with alcoholism and prescription meds. On Father’s Day weekend, we held a tree planting ceremony for my step dad in 115ºF weather in the Las Vegas desert, coming together for the first time in over a decade. Seeing all of my extended family again had all the opportunities to catch people up on my life. The last they saw me I was a young teen, graduating high school, fresh eyed and ready for anything. Now I am 29, two kids, married, and burying the ashes of my step father under a tree at a park he was responsible for landscaping. The conversations that insued about myself and my step dad led me to thinking about where I was now that I am 29 and where I want to go next.