Happy birthday, Taylor!!
Taylor's had some shitty birthdays, memorable for the wrong reasons (her 21st immediately comes to mind), but she's had some incredible ones, too.
Her last had been marked by tension and feigned self-reassurance that everything was perfectly fine, that it was just another rough patch.
If it weren't for her friends and their insistence they celebrate her, the day would've been miserable, there's not a doubt in her mind. Slapping a smile on wasn't as difficult when they gave her a genuine reason to.
This year, nearly every aspect of her life is different. She's more certain of herself, of her place in both the industry and in the world at large. She's confident in her choices, unapologetic about the decisions she makes...she isn't even dreading getting older because it wasn't until the past few years that she fully appreciated having the opportunity to age when so many didn't.
The final few months of thirty-three had been rife with lessons. How to stay calm in times of adversity. How to put herself first. How to accept endings and close chapters and refuse to look back. She had learned to love herself right where she was at, instead of where she thought she should be. Cutting herself some slack was probably the biggest take away from this past year. And the result of that granted grace was in the pay off of something she'd been searching for.
The greatest gift she has been given, either belated or early, depending on how you looked at it, in the form of one of the very best people she'd ever known.
Her mother swore he'd been heaven sent by Taylor's grandmother, as they shared the same birthday, her father said he knew Travis was the one for her the second he saw how he looked at her and her brother was just thrilled she was happy.
"It's like you're your old self again," he'd declared not long ago.
As the final hours tick by, spent in her New York apartment after dinner with good friends, she's by the window that leads to the balcony, glass of wine in hand, dress and heels long since traded for sweats and bare feet. It's not quite midnight, but the city holds a serenity to it tonight, a kind of quiet, free of taxi horns and sirens, that she hasn't experienced in a long time. Maybe she's brought the peace with her from Kansas City, but whatever it is, she's soaking it up.
At ten minutes to 12, Travis calls on FaceTime and although it hasn't been a minute since she's seen him, there's a physical longing, an ache, that goes along with missing him.
"Almost that time," he enthuses, his eyes sparkling as he sits up in bed. "Do you feel any different?"
"Not really," Taylor swirls the last few sips of wine around in the glass. "More excited than anything else. Can't wait to see what this next year has in store for me."
"Traveling, more success, awards, definitely," Travis fills in, "hopefully a nice little getaway for us at some point. This was a damn good year and it'll only go up from here."
A damn good year made even sweeter by his presence and the unexpected adventure of falling in love. When she tells him exactly that, his eyes go brighter.
"Best thing that happened to me in 2023."
"Oh, really," she teases, flexing her ankles so they make a satisfying crack, "better than winning the Superbowl?"
"Definitely tied," he smoothly replies. "Hey, two more minutes."
"Are you going to sing to me?"
He laughs. "If you want me to."
"Mmm, yes, I think I do. Dare you."
"Not much of a dare."
She grins, recalling their fondness for egging each other on and how it had led to her changing the "Karma," lyrics for him in front of 70,000 people. One thing about her was she never shied away from a good challenge, especially if the other party didn't believe she was going to follow through. If they said, "no way," her automatic response was, "just watch."
