A new decade of adventures

First, I think the weather gods have finally forgiven me for however I wronged them, because today was beautiful and sunny and 60 degrees, and it's February fourth. Usually my birthday is greeted by rain, or sleet, or snow, or ice--or some combination thereof. I can't tell you, because I lost count long ago, how many birthday parties I had to cancel as a child because of the weather.

Yes, that's right--it's my birthday today. I'm thirty. The big 3-0. The introduction of my fourth decade of life (calm down, super-technical people--I know that I won't really reach that until 31; face it, the millennium debate is long over and you lost to 2000). Thirty, flirty, and thriving (bonus points if you know what that's from).

Lots of people have been asking me, with a certain amount of glee (these people are usually younger than I am), if I am freaked out about turning THIRTY. Honestly, I'm not. I kept waiting for the feeling of dread, and I woke up this morning and checked myself for signs of anxiety. But I'm really kind of relieved to be leaving the turbulent twenties behind. Twenty-five was much worse than thirty. I remember the horror of looking in the mirror on my 25th birthday and panicking that my life was dripping away while I lived with my parents and worked swing shift in a call center and did nothing else. But thirty doesn't feel like that.

If I were the sort of person who made a list of things to do in my life--a "bucket list", if you want to be completely asinine--I would have included the following things:

Live in a foreign country and learn a second language
Learn to play the piano
Buy a home
Get a dog
Go to library school and work in the library field someday

So far: I lived in China for two years, although I only learned Chinese well enough to barter and order food. I am two-and-a-half years into piano lessons. I am about 27 years away from paying off my mortgage, but every month I get a little closer to owning my home outright. I have the sweetest dog ever, expensive health problems or not. And I have applied to library school for next fall, and hope to hear something next month.

So you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time. I look back now and see that I really did accomplish some things in my twenties. And now, I have all that helpful experience and perspective to carry on into my thirties. I'll probably feel the same way in ten years at forty (yikes!), smugly looking back and wondering what that crazy thirty-year-old was thinking. Isn't it funny how we can feel so mature and together at any age, but looking back we recognize that we had no idea what we were doing most of the time? My current self thinks my younger self was kind of lost and made some strange choices--and yet, here I am as a result of that younger self, feeling fairly good about life.

Of course, there are still things I would like to accomplish in my life. I want to write a book someday, and have it published, even if I can't live off the royalties. I want to learn a foreign language well enough to dream in it. I would like to learn watercolor painting, and colored pencil drawing, and calligraphy. I want to visit Australia and Russia and Egypt, eventually making it through all seven continents, even Antarctica if I can do it in a way that doesn't damage the environment there. I want to actually read all the books I own, and get rid of the ones I don't like. I want to learn to make a roux and decorate a cake. I want to find a way, cliched though it might sound, to contribute something to the world while I'm here.

So bring it on, world. I'm ready for a new decade!