My Next 30 Years

I took the day off today in honor of my 30th birthday. I felt I was due a day off from work. I woke up today just like every other day: tired, cranky, and bothered by the alarm. I couldn’t fall asleep last night and then by the time I was tired it was 11:56PM so I figured I should wait until midnight at least so I could welcome my birthday. That’s how we celebrated our college birthdays and it was the only time in my life where we celebrated throughout the day. I'm essentially the last of the group to turn 30. I usually like to be first but it's been OK waiting for the age fairy.

I got up early to take Sean to the metro and then I mostly ran errands today such as:
getting my chimney cleaned, took new passport photos, went to the bank, looked briefly around the mall, watched my neighbor trim my tree which was actually quite entertaining considering how many branches came down. The good news is both my fence and the neighbor’s is still standing.
Not a terribly exciting day, but it was sure nice to be able to spend a large part of this beautiful October day outside versus my cube world.

I don’t feel any different today. I am not sure what I expected. It’s not like I got the right to drive, or vote, or buy cigarettes, or drink alcohol, or rent cars. However, I have earned the right to complain about cellulite, and ask very important questions such as: what are those darn kids doing up so late, and turn that music down, and what is that pain in my neck/back/leg? As a good friend who turned 30 last week pointed out in my birthday card, it’s OK that we are 30 because we’re not experiencing the aftershocks such as gray hair, a larger butt, missing teeth and a few other signs of aging. And then he pointed out that terrible little word – ‘YET.’ Overall, it sounds like I’m in good shape although for the record I am not planning on losing my teeth for a long while.

As my birthday fades away this evening, I look forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day that will hopefully bring me loads of trick-or-treaters. (I’ve been hiding candy for weeks from my husband, saving it for the kids that I hope will come out in droves, and I still won’t reveal its location.) Today I can reflect on how I spent my last thirty years, but tomorrow the time has come to focus on my next thirty years as Tim McGraw would say. It will probably be a slower pace in some aspects, but I’m sure it will be filled with many rewarding stories, experiences and memories to add to my collection. Let’s hope that I can document them better to so they don’t slip from my memory anytime soon!

I’m going to relax the rest of the evening and I’m not embarrassed to tell you… First I’m going to eat my yummy birthday pies and cupcakes (don't remind me about the cellulite just yet) and then I’m going to watch The Bachelor and then What About Bryan. It’s the small things in life.

Happy 30th Birthday Kristin! May the best be yet to come!