Oh yeah. I turned 30.

My birthday was back in March, but somehow I forgot to blog about it. Probably because I'm so old now. Or because there was a tornado complete with hail, high winds, and threatened power outages that day. Seriously. Work was even let out early. After last April's tornados, Alabama doesn't (and shouldn't) take tornado warnings lightly.

photo credit

Because of those tornado warnings, Phil and I had to cut our birthday date short and just grab a quick dinner. Thanks to some sweet (and courageous) friends, we had free babysitting AND a free dinner at Brio. About 40 minutes into our meal, we heard what sounded like the percussion section of a band serenading us, but in a matter of seconds, the noise started pounding so loud that we couldn't hear each other talk. We looked out the window to see hail the size of softballs in the street and were thankful we had parked in a parking deck. Quite the birthday display...and the end of our dinner.


So, here's why I'm excited about being 30:
Thirty is having enough behind you to be confident in your own skin but enough ahead of you to still be excited about the future. Thirty is old enough to be taken seriously but young enough to still get carded every now and then. Thirty is established, but no where near "arrived" (if there is such a thing).

Remember my 30 before 30 goals? Yep. Most of them happened. But several of them didn't. I still haven't sung karaoke. Or snorkled. Or finished typing my grandfather's WWII letters. Or changed a tire. BUT, here's the thing. In my 20's, I would have berated myself for not finishing the list. Now, in my 30's, I'm learning to be okay with doing what I can, but leaving space for being human, for being imperfect. So I didn't accomplish all my goals. Big whoop. Since I was the one who made them in the first place, I'm pretty sure I can a) change them, b) extend the deadline, or c) choose not to do them all. No one cares (except me if I let myself).


For me, 30 is all about the freedom to be imperfect, to make mistakes, to give life all I've got and be okay if it's not enough sometimes. It's also about living thankfully. Think of all the things I have done that weren't on the list, like giving birth to Moo or starting (and somewhat maintaining) the Kitchen Challenge. So much to be grateful for that I can't even anticipate.

Sitting at the top of a new decade, the view is pretty nice.