Happy Birthday to Me

30. Wow. When I was 20, I imagined 30 very differently. I thought of 30 as old. Much older than I feel now. When I was a teenager I remember parents in their thirties as being very unhip, lacking style and out of touch. But those are not words I would use to describe the parents I know in their thirties now. At 30, I did not think people would still refer to me as the kid. I didn't think that I'd encounter situations where people doubted my capability or knowledge because I was so young. But then again I always thought I'd look 30 at 30, and that hasn't quite happened either (but that is not necessarily bad). At least I won't have to go on that Look 10 Years Younger show on TLC any time soon.

I thought that at 30, I would have 2 young kids, an amazing career, and a stay-at-home dad husband. But it took us longer than we expected to feel "ready" to have children. Then we put it off another couple of years so that I could get my master's degree. And then we spent the last year trying. Oh and the idea that Jeramy would be a stay at home dad was pure craziness. It turns out that construction workers can make as much or even more money than individuals with advanced college degrees. I do have a good career though. Amazing might be too extreme an adjective. But I've come to learn that I don't really want to be defined by my career, so perhaps this is less important to me now than it was even just a year ago.

It is just so interesting how our perspective changes so much with time. In so many ways life has gone exactly how I planned it. But then again in some ways it hasn't. But of course, if I've learned anything during my tenure as a 29 year-old it is that not everything in life goes as planned.