30 years in the making

Well, it's official. I'm no longer a twenty-something. Looking back on the last 10 years, I can definitely say that I am happy with how things have turned out so far. I have been married to the love of my life for nearly 7 years, have 4 beautiful children, am working at a job that never seems to run out of new and interesting challenges, and am living in one of the most amazing, family-friendly cities in the country. As my 30th year on this world begins, I remember how I felt 5 years ago on my 25th birthday, when I was far less happy about getting another year older. I had begun to realize that time was passing at that my childhood (and what I thought of as my youth) was officially over. 5 years later, I have come to grips with the fact that, like it or not, I am now an adult, but also that "youth" is not something that can be tracked on a calendar. It is how we feel about ourselves. It is about how we interact with the world around us. We choose to feel old. As my children begin going to school, and we move into yet another new phase in our family, I am looking forward to the challenges ahead.