oh no! the big 3-0h

thoughts on turning 30...

the trick to hitting a milestone birthday is that you're ready for it. if i were turning 50, no, i wouldn't be okay with that. if i went from 17 to 30, i wouldn't be ready. it's funny how life works out that way. however, after three decades of life or over a third of my life expectancy, it is a good time to reflect and evaluate, i think.

i had a brief stint with a nose ring this past year. at first i thought i may be too old to be inflicting this kind of thing on myself [i don't handle pain as well as i used to] but then i thought, i'll never be younger than i am today, so don't hesitate*. just do it. i actually really did like it, whether it made me feel young and hip or not. at first there was the giant needle piercing my nostril and the pain of healing. then there was the cleanings, a little awkward with the q-tips and the angle. and then there was the shoe store . . . [imagine the wavy lines they use on television that indicate a flashback sequence as the screen melts into a distant memory] the boys were being incredibly difficult this specific trip to payless, but isaak really needed some shoes. so i'm struggling to get this shoe on his foot and yelling at jonah to stay put when ikey grabs my glasses and pulls them down my face. they catch on the nose ring and pull it completely out. so i'm crouching on the floor trying to size up the damage in the foot mirror and there is blood dripping down my face, eyes watering, and kids escaping while i painfully reinsert. . . [wavy lines, again, back now to the present] still i persevered in the name of youth to keep the ring. there was repeated infections, and jewelry that kept breaking, difficulty during the cold season... i lasted about 7 months before i finally gave it up and decided i was too old for this [nuisance].

i had only one request [arguably] for my birthday gift this year: a smaller size of jeans than i have ever worn in my adult life [i won't reveal what that size is for all you zero's out there, throwing off the curve for the rest of us]. i have no pipe dreams about the 'yellow polka dot bikini', just jeans will be fine. joe was instructed to consult my friend and jean-ius, lara, on the brand and type of jeans to buy which will enhance and mold just right according to my body type. he did just that with arduous effort, even exerting himself to venture into lands this man has never seen before [nordstroms]. but sadly and regrettably [as usual], for those of you wondering, NO, i will not being wearing them at my party tomorrow. just one of my many failed diet attempts on the weight rollercoaster that is my reality. but i take that back, i don't want to say fail. it's too final. i have made some progress and i'm still working on it. i can get the jeans on now, but unfortunately they only look slightly better than this. [sorry, minus all the hair and freakishness!] so i failed to meet the deadline, but stay tuned. i will squeeze my hiney into those beloved sevens before this year is through. mark. my. words. [mark them, but don't comment on them. at least not to my face.]

i also had my first cavity this year. it was a little bit of a blow considering that i pride myself on having pretty good dental genes. [what can i say, i've got to be proud of something since neither long legs nor high metabolism were ever in the cards.] in my quest to be healthier this year, i brush a little longer and even floss more.

all in all, i don't really have any apprehensions about getting older. i'm happy with the accomplishments i've made so far in my life and maybe even learned a little from my failures. i can only hope for continued blessings and life's lessons.

*one could argue that hesitation might just lead to logically coming to one's senses. but what can i say? i tend to be impulsive.

forever young - youth group