Wednesday, September 25, 2013

30 days til 30

As of tomorrow, I have a month left until I turn the big 3-0. I've still got about half of my list left to complete, but even if I don't come close to finishing everything on my 30 by 30, I'm pretty damn proud of how much I accomplished in the last 6 months.

Over Labor Day weekend, I accomplished yet another feat: I got my first tattoo. I went with a former co-worker on the Friday before Labor Day as it was a service reduction day for state workers. We got there not long after they opened and my friend offered to go first so I could "see how it was done." She did alright on the outline, but when the guy switched to color on her butterfly, she couldn't quite keep the poker face. Lucky for me, I had chosen to go with a simple tattoo: dolphins swimming around my ankle. It was painful and I was nervous, but I got through it. :) And now, almost a month later, my tattoo has pretty much healed and it feels awesome to know I finally took that step as I've been wanting the same tattoos for about the last ten years.

This weekend, Eric and I are going to a drive-in movie theater, which is also on my list. And then next month, he and I are taking my daughter to see Niagara Falls. That will kill two things on my list: a road trip in my new car and seeing Niagara Falls. The plan is that the following weekend, on my actual birthday, we're going to head up to NYC to take in a Broadway show (or two, he's been hinting that he would like to finally see Avenue Q).

I figure, with some of the other things I have (like making my own mead and losing weight), I should accomplish about 2/3 of my list by my birthday. Whatever is left will either be left to the wayside or incorporated into my 45 by 45 list in honor of my mother...which I really need to get a move on and start compiling that list!! I'd like to have it mapped out by my 30th birthday.

Still, I am amazed at what I did accomplish this year. I went on a cruise, got to "swim" with dolphins, went zip-lining, parasailing, and surfing. I've done a lot of things I wasn't sure I would do and I'm really proud of how I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I also signed up for an exotic dancing class in DC next month, which is also on my list. I'm not sure how far out of my comfort zone that will push me, since I've already taken two seasons of belly dancing and have a dvd called "strip to it," but I'm excited.

As far as the actual act of turning 30, I'm actually looking forward to it. My 20's were such a whirlwind of bad decisions and basically rebuilding my life that I'm really optimistic that my 30's will be a better decade. I hope to be "30, flirty and thriving," to quote one of my favorite movies. By the end of my 30's, I hope to be finished with law school, working as an attorney and finding new ways to better my life. I hope to be a better mom to my daughter, a better friend and, possibly, a better wife than I apparently was in my 20's. I've learned a lot in the last decade, so much that sometimes I forget it's only been a decade as, to me, it's felt like a lifetime. However, the good thing is that it hasn't been a lifetime, and I still have time left to grow from the mistakes I've made.

For my last 30 days of my 20's, I want to celebrate how far I've come and look forward to what lies ahead!

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