Thoughts on Thirty

Mark asked me earlier this week what 30 means to me. To be honest, I was a little confused about his question and had to ask for clarification. He wondered if I had any milestones I'd hoped to have reached, goals to have achieved, etc by the time I was 30.

Strange as it may seem, I've never been one to look all that far ahead. Even though I'm a planner when it comes to Disney trip taking and new car buying (yup, finally got one of those yesterday), I don't think much at all about what my life will look like 5, 10, 20 years down the line. And I certainly don't make a list of major accomplishments that I am to have ticked off by a particular age. Maybe that shows a lack of drive and ambition, because I'd quite possibly have a better job, bigger house, heftier savings account and more if I'd come up with some sort of course of action for my life. But that's just not me.

Truth be told, I feel like 30 is a strange age to attach such import too when loads of people live to be a century or so old. I'm still extremely young when you look at it that way. In fact, high school feels like it just ended yesterday, rather than over a decade (!!) ago. Which I suppose is odd to say since I've been married for approaching eight years now, and a mother for nearly four. It's just that I'm only now beginning to feel like I've gotten a grip on everything around me and settled into a comfortable routine. Not to say that things were out of control before, just that life runs more smoothly now. And I'm completely happy with the way it runs.

So to answer Mark's question... no, I never made a list of objectives for age 30. But given my current contentment with life, I'd say that whatever list I should have made I checked off in its entirety. We'll see if I can say the same when I turn 40. You know, when Charlotte's in high school. Scary thought.