On Turning 30

In less than 1 hour I will officially be 30 years old. This is a pivotal moment in every young person's life and everyone reacts to 30 differently. It is an exciting bittersweet experience thus far. But what does it mean to be 30? I used to think I knew. When I was in high school I had this image or rather fantasy of what I thought my life would be like at 30. I imagined I'd be married with a kid or two. I thought I'd have some matching furniture in a nice little house and I thought we'd be in a fairly stable financial situation. You know, after graduating from college and finding careers, I thought paying our bills would be pretty simple and that we'd also have money in savings. Building up a little nest egg or saving for the future of our kids. I thought I'd be...well, settled.

Unfortunately, 30 is quite different. Despite the lack of my very own parking place and a little white fence there are some parts of turning 30 I had never even considered. I had no idea that the economy would tank and that renting an apartment would actually turn out in our favor. It allows us freedom and mobility and when stuff breaks, we don't have to pay to fix it. :) I never imagined I would be so loved by the most beautiful little girl in the whole world. I also never imagined I could be so completely happily married. So many people have trouble with their relationships and in this day and age it's hard not to trip over someone breaking up or getting divorced. Even though I have loved my husband for nearly 12 years, before we were married and even early on, there was always that tiny fear that things may not work out. Now I am just so grateful for him and the life that we have built, every single day. Do we always see eye to eye, no. But we work together to build one another up. He is my biggest supporter and I can't imagine spending my 30th birthday or any birthday with anyone else.

Turning 30 isn't what I thought it would be, instead it is so much more. I am loved and happy and I've been able to do things I never thought I could. I have true friends who I can call on in the middle of the night. I have a loving family. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and a great cook to make my dinner :) Most of all I have a sense of accomplishment, great self worth and faith in God.

I don't think it gets much better than this. Happy birthday to me!

Crazy but good.

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I'm sure you were all waiting on the edge of your seats pining for me to write some more. :) If you aren't familiar with the seasons of debate then here is the down low: during the summer you contact your students for an initial get to know you, most of the varsity students prep during the summer and we often have a little mini camp for a few days to give our students the extra information they need to get ready for competition. Then school starts the end of August, first part of Sept. Our first tournament is the last weekend in October, then we have approximately 10 two day tournaments from November through the end of February with qualifying tournaments in March and April. Then Nationals in June and then we start over again. So unfortunately people usually don't see me or hear from me from November or December until April. And as can be observed from my blog, that's pretty much what happened this time.

                                             Chillin in my classroom.

So what have I been doing all this time to improve myself? Well after graduating from The College of Massage Therapy and starting my massage business in October I have been excited to watch my clientele grow and my business reach more people. I enjoyed spending the holidays with family and take whatever break I could. After the holidays I set a goal to loose 30 lbs by my 30th birthday and I joined Gold's Gym. In February I was selected as the area's National Forensic League district coach of the year. I was very excited about this accomplishment having only coached for 5 short years. I gained some new and different responsibilities at my church and I attempted to get through a few books I had started.

I've refocused my efforts on spending quality time with my family and while I was on spring break I believe I did just that. Watching my daughter grow and learn is amazing. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of watching a three year old can probably understand this wonder to behold. I try not to be one of those parents that 'thinks my kid is a genius' but isn't it fascinating to watch them discover the world. One of my favorite things is listening to her develop language. Our ability to communicate truly is what sets us apart as a species and it is what makes us human. It is baffling to watch her learn new words and even more, to listen to her make connections between things.

Now it's May and only a few weeks away from my birthday and not nearly close enough to meet my weight loss goals. However, I have learned some good lessons. With all the stress and craziness with my career in education it has been hard to decide to stay teaching another year or put all my energy and effort into growing my massage therapy business. It is my goal to transition out of education and into massage therapy but it is a scary and risky experience to change careers. Next year is going to come with some big changes and as much as I'd like to throw in the towel now, we just feel it wouldn't be financially prudent.

I have been working hard at working out and eating healthy. I have enjoyed my weight lifting class. Although I haven't met my weight loss goals I feel better about my body, I feel like I've lost body fat and my pants fit better; which I think is the better measure. It is NOT easy to loose weight. However, I have had some great experiences through my workouts and even recently had an almost spiritual moment during a spinning class. All in all I'm glad I joined the gym and I feel better every day that I go.


Transitions and change are good. They allow us to see our world from a different perspective. In one week I will turn 30. Isn't it funny how we have a picture in our mind of how our life will be when we are 30. I remember in high school, thinking that by this point, I would have graduated with my Master's degree, own a home and be able to pay all my bills and still have money left over for food and gas. Boy was I naive! I guess some lessons you can only learn the hard way. I do find it frustrating when I see barely twenty something's going around as if they've got it all figured out. They have a great house with matching furniture, a kid or two, a decent job, and they seem to be doing pretty well. But I suppose everyone is dealt a different hand of cards so we have to go with what we've got.

Someday I will have that house and some matching furniture to go with it. But most of all I just want happiness and joy....Oh and a parking spot that is all my own!