28, 29, BLOG!

Happy Birthday to me!  

Happy Birthday to me!  

Happy . . . 

Wait a minute. . . 

I'm turning 30!!!!

How is this possible?!?

How could I have lived 3 decades already?

Surely I can't be that old . . . right?

Well after much debate, 

a little denial, 

and triple checking my birth certificate;

I've come to the realization that 

not only am I going to be 30 in a few days, 

but I actually okay with this.

Let me back up a little bit. . .

Age is a funny thing, well, not funny ha-ha, but well, it's not really funny.  

I guess it's more curious and interesting.

When you're a kid, you just have to tell everyone how old you are 

and it seems like you just can't wait to get older.

You dream about hitting those landmark ages . . .

10- cause you're finally in the double digits

13- officially a teenager

16- sweet sixteen never been kissed

18- you're an adult

21- you're even more an adult?

Then that is pretty much it.  As a kid you don't really think about anything beyond the age 21.  When you finally become a twenty-something- life is your oyster!  I'm not a big fan of sea food, so maybe being a twenty-something for me- life was kind of like my. . .umm orange? 

Or pomegranate?  

Whatever, anywho, when you are in your twenties it's like you can do anything!  You're young, yet technically an adult, and the world is your oyster or orange or something.

As a twenty-something, you just assume that there are certain things you will do like find your soul mate, spend an insane amount of money on your wedding, have 2.3 kids, buy a house, live happily ever after and all that jazz.

But then you  hear this annoying ticking sound,

so you look at your biological clock and realize . . .

I'm THIRTY!!!!!

When did that happen?!?!?

Oh, right, on Tuesday.

Things get even hairier, so you start looking for your good Venus razor, when you realize that all the things you thought you'd do in your twenties: like getting married, eating the worlds biggest hamburger, visiting Spain, and bonding your sibling out of jail- haven't happened yet- and it's kind of your fault (except for the jail thing).

Time Warp back to the present day. . .

Now I'm nearly thirty and the question is. . . Now What?

Well it took me about a week of sadness and what-if's

 and then I had an epiphany!

Age is just a number, 

well, it's also a word but moving on . . .

Just because I'm 30 doesn't mean my life is over, in fact,

since I've not done most of the things twenty-somethings do

that means the next 30 years should be a roller coaster of excitement (full of mostly ups)!

Right?

Well, that's what I'm hoping for and I'm sticking to it!

Now for another question,

What the *&^%$ have I accomplished in 3 decades?

I'm going to pass by the first 2 decades (since they mostly consisted of becoming a sustainable adult) and go straight to the third- my twenty-somethings.

I've done a lot, so I thought I'd just list the highlights in a list format, because I'm efficient like that.

From ages 20-29 I have. . .

* Finished college with a bachelor's degree

* Interviewed with six different school corporations (talk about scary)

*Got my dream job!

* Been apart of or a guest of umteen weddings (none of which were mine)

*Donated blood multiple times (but never to a vampire)

* Moved out on my own (and discovered I needed to learn how to cook)

*Visited family in Ohio & Kentucky

* Paid 3 of my 4 student loans (anyone whose ever had one knows what an accomplishment this is, seriously, I should list it on here 3 times.)

* Taken 2 trips on an airplane (there and back 2 separate times) 

* Took classes online to renew my teaching license

* Fostered abandoned cats and kittens for a local animal shelter

*  Volunteered for a local animal shelter

* Been a guest of umteen baby showers (seriously, there is something in the water, drink soymilk instead)

* Become a volunteer writer for a local animal shelter

* Taught numerous future leaders how to read, write, problem solve, think, and get along with others

* Made several outfits and costumes for relatives & the drama club

  *Written and received numerous grants for my school & students

* Bid on things at an auction

*Learned conversational sign language & conversational Spanish

* Paid off 2 cars! But then had to buy a third because. . .

* Was in a car accident (not my fault)

*Had adventures in Chicago!

*Saw several musicals

* Had sinus surgery (twice)

* Painted, sketched, sewed, and read to my hearts content!

* And much, much more!

So my twenty-somethings weren't boring in the least.  In fact, it seems like my life has been go, go GO! for the last 9 almost 10 years.

And what does the future hold for me?
Honestly, I have no idea, but I hope that a lot of happiness is involved.  Well, happiness, paying off all of my debt, and perhaps a trip outside the continental US.

If you know me, you know I love Chinese food. . . and fortune cookies.  Recently I got one that said, "It's always darkest before the dawn."  After I was done geeking out over the fact that they quoted one of my favorite Florence and the Machine songs, I thought about the words.  

It really is darkest before the dawn, and as many good things that have happened in my life, there's been plenty of bad (mostly sad) too.  

By fortune cookie logic, if it truly is darkest before the dawn; 

then things are about to get much better and brighter.  

Being a thirty-something might actually be fun!  

Who knows, anything is possible!  

Plus, fortune cookies & Florence are never wrong.  

Look out 30's, here I come!