I'm not sure I have any great pictures to accompany this post and frankly it'd take too much effort to go find some and scan 'em in at this point. And, I'm tired now. I'm 30 years old tomorrow, which means I'll get tired more easily than the today. I'll start going to bed at 9pm, just after I finish perusing the Reader's Digest. I'll start shopping at Eddie Bauer (again.) I'll develop an affinity for drinking hot tea and become a prolific crossword puzzle solver. I'll eat oatmeal for breakfast because I think it tastes good. I'll buy shoes based only on their comfort level and my knees will hurt when a storm is brewing.
Oh, I hope not. As my husband reminded me just before we got married, "you'll still be you and I'll still be me." He's a pretty smart dude. I easily get caught up in huge life transitions and think that everything is going to change overnight. It doesn't. But still, where in the world did 30 years old come from? My twin brother and I have texted and chatted a bit more in the last few weeks and I always bring up the fact that "we're going to be thirty!" That's not fresh our of college or mid-twenties. I'm an established adult. We had our first babysitter the other night (for our son, not us) and she was 20 years old which means that I'm TEN years older than her. It's not the accuracy of my math that shocks me, but the fact that there is a distinct generation gap now between me and people graduating from high school and college. I'm their senior.
But enough is enough. I'm over it. And following with the "I'll still be me" concept I'd like to make a short list* of who I'll "still be" tomorrow when I enter a new life stage.
*In no particular order and not all-inclusive because my memory isn't what it was when I was younger.
I'll still be...
- Amy Michelle Warren
- A Kansan, and more importantly a Jayhawk!
- A follower of Jesus
- A wife to a crazy-cool man
- A mom to one of the cutest 9 month-olds around
- The girl who loves dancing around the house
- A tap and ballet teacher
- A crafty person- it's nice that I already have a leg up on sewing because I think that's what you're "supposed" to take on when you turn 30
- A goofball
- A friend to many wonderful people
- The wannabe interior decorator/designer
- A film major from KU
- A imperfect perfectionist
- Too hard on myself
- Learning to love myself more
- Learning to eat chocolate a little less
- The one who makes jokes in a group to ease any tension
- The girl who cries when I'm happy, sad, confused, overwhelmed, touched, and angry
Here are some of my favorite recent pics...because I remember now that no one reads blog posts without pictures.
When I look back on the last thirty years - I can do that and remember every one of them - I can see many of the wonderful times that you have ahead in your life. You may look at today and wonder how the time could have passed so quickly. Trust me - the clock ticks faster every day from here on. Ben will start kindergarten one day and graduate from college the next. Next week, he'll bring home the girl he'll marry and you'll think she's perfect. Next month, you'll have grandkids and the idea of anything so wonderful will have an unexplainable impact on you. Daniel's burly, dark hair will have turned salty and peppery but yours won't and only your hairdresser will know for sure. And when you look in the mirror, you will wonder, "who IS that woman looking back at me?" because, even though you are now 60 to everyone else, you are still the young girl you remember. You still like to be goofy, tell a joke to break up a tense moment, dance in the kitchen and cry over anything. (Hint: now you take estrogen to help with the crying!) And remember, too much of anything is a bad idea - except when it comes to chocolate! In other words, you'll still be you. In my way of thinking, that will be just perfect! Have a fantastically, fabulous and wonder-filled celebration of where you have been and remember to look forward every day with excitement to what the years ahead have in store. Love - Cindy
ReplyDeleteLove you so much. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the pics and yes, you'll always be you - whether you're 30, 60, or 90. And that's what we love about you - your "youness." Stay fly, girl and celebrate!
ReplyDelete