30 Reasons I'm Excited About 30

I have spent most of this year trying to think of things I am excited about that relate to this life milestone. Most of my friends are not the type to be terribly rattled by the fact that they are turning 30 but all of them that have turned 30 before me mentioned at least a moment where it really hit them that their 20's were gone. It seems that at 30 people feel that their course in life has been set, at least to a large degree. Many people have kids, most have finished school, and several are set on one career path or another. The momentum and energy required to make a drastic change in their life would be overwhelming for many at this point. I haven't really heard anyone regret where they are so much as regret the loss of the feeling of bursting potential that we all seemed to have in our early 20's. We never felt it slip away, we just woke up one morning and realized that there was a predictability about us and our life that while comfortable is not nearly as exciting. I want to reawaken that excitement by looking forward, instead of back, and thinking of the wonderful exciting things to come, or that are now here, instead of mourning the things that are behind me. So here are 30 Reasons I'm Excited About 30...

1) I have fully achieved this age. The years that have gone by were not empty, I learned so much.
2,3) I look 30 and I look good for 30.
4) I have 2 kids and one on the way. I should be 30 to be this tired.
5) I should be 30 to have done as much as I have done. I have had a career, and left it to raise my kids, not bad for 30.
6) My kids are starting school, this is a time of new discovery for me.
7) I can face the challenges of having three kids with a confidence that I would not have had before.
8) My cooking has only gotten better, and I can't wait to see what the future holds there!
9) I love getting birthday presents so any birthday is a cause for celebration.
10) I have come to accept my morning pace no matter what the other residents of the house think of it.
11) I get to hear my children singing to themselves in the morning.
12,13) I get to watch my children love on and comfort one another, and for perhaps the last time I can hold all three of my children in my lap at the same time.
14) I have time to change the habits I don't like about myself.
15) I know which habits I have that I like and want to nurture.
16) I'm not done learning about others, my God, and myself.
17) I have learned to slow down a bit at this point in my life. Instead of rushing through things I have learned to stop and enjoy the moment.
18) I have learned to take pictures, not meaning that they are any good but just that I remember to pull out the camera and capture a great moment. This comes so naturally to many people but it takes me reminding myself to do it.
19) My idle thoughts are full of songs, scriptures, books and to do lists, and I like that.
20,21) I have had the privilege of being married to a wonderful man for nearly 8 years and our marriage and time together only seems to get sweeter, each year bringing something new.
22) I have weeded through the friends in my life and those that I keep up with are a good match for me.
23) I am surrounded by people I love and admire, and that I just like to be around.
24) I have people in my life that make me a better person and make me want to be a better person.
25) I have no trouble telling the important people in my life that I love them and am blessed by them. And I can't wait to say it some more.
26) All the drama of settling into a way of life is past to a large degree. Though there will be decisions to make ahead of me I have set myself upon a path that will help steer me through those places.
27,28) The wisdom that my elders worked so hard to impart to me has been considered, tested, and made my own in many ways and I have learned to rely on that instead of fighting it.
29) I am comfortable with the things that I don't like, brussel sprouts and fish will never become part of my routine and I refuse to feel pressure to like them.
30) I am not afraid to realize I don't know things and I am not afraid to ask about things I don't understand. With this truly comes the true benefit of this age. A shedding of many of the fears that might have held me back at younger years and an opening of my mind, but not to the meaningless trivialities that interested me before, to the heart and soul of what makes life such a beautiful thing to live.

Thirty, I embrace you and all that you are bringing to my life! Welcome! I am blessed to be here!