Life Is Like a Rittersport

Today I turned 34. I'm never thrilled about getting a year older but I'm starting to take it more gracefully than I used to. I didn't ugly cry today about that feeling of getting "old" or the continued loss of my 20s. The boys made me some little decorations and cards and got me some treats including this adorable collection of mini Rittersport chocolates. I love them because it reminds me of my trip to Germany and because they are cute and colorful and because, well, they are chocolate. Who doesn't want that?

Beyond those reasons though, I love them because they represent the variety of life. There's the smooth milk chocolate ones, of course, and I occasionally have those blissfully smooth days, but most of them are filled with something-  primarily nuts. "Nuts" is a good way to describe most days and to describe the little people that live in my house. It's as if Rittersport has taken so many situations and distilled them into a chocolate analogy. There's the chocolate with whole hazelnuts in it for those times when things just feel wholly insane- the kids are exploding, there's no plan for dinner, you worked all day, came home for an hour, left for a school board meeting and then had homework to do when you got home after which you got into a heated "discussion" with your spouse about something stupid like whether or not "burnt umber" used to be in a standard set of crayola crayons. There's the chocolate with pralines, which are just nuts coated in sugar, for those days when the kids are crazy but you are filled with love and awe for them because of their nuttiness. I mean, yes, they completely destroyed the basement, but they did so while writing and performing an original and very violent play. What more could a mother ask? There's also the chocolate filled with marzipan which is just very very finely ground nuts mixed with honey for those days when inside you are a raging mess but outside you make everything look smooth and happy so that you can post about it on social media. Rittersport even provides you with a chocolate filled with cornflakes for those days when you leave the house and are halfway to work before realizing that you didn't eat breakfast or put on any makeup today or for those times when you completely space that today is some special dress up day for school and you get a picture of the entire class on Class Dojo all cutsied up except for your kid who is wearing a hideous tie-dye t-shirt and and picking his nose. Rittersport also gives you one square chocolate that is filled with a delicious buttery cookie. There is so much to savor about this little treat. It's one of my favorite German words- Butterkeks. I just like the way it sounds. I also like the cookie. This is the gratitude chocolate. This the chocolate for those rare days when I can ignore the giant hazelnuts in my path and just soak in everything good about life. Those days when I am filled with wonder at the incredible North Dakota skies and in the unfailing love of my family and friends despite my innumerable flaws. Today is one of those days. I am feeling so grateful for my 34 years of life and experience and, even though I would love to give away some of the wrinkles and the stress that accumulate with each new year, I am looking forward to another year of good adventures and good chocolate to go with them.