Another Year Wiser

I turn 30 tomorrow.

Contrary to how popular media tells me I should feel, I'm not nervous or anxious. It will feel a bit strange, not to be in my 20's anymore, but it will be okay.

As I think about turning 30, I think about this past decade and all that I did and experienced:

I worked at two different summer camps

I drove cross-country

I backpacked through Europe with one of my best friends

I graduated college

I fell in love with my husband

I was welcomed by another family

I learned how to decorate

I began my career

I learned how to cook

We bought my first new car

We adopted our Ava Bear

We were married

I started Blackboard Kitchen

We moved in to our first home

I stood up for friends at their weddings

I made new friends

I found my voice

I worked with students

I became a better teacher

I took care of people other than myself

I was surrounded by a supportive, loving, and grace-filled community of family and friends

I had such a great time

I am so thankful for the past year of my life.

I am thankful for you, for coming here and caring about me and what I do.

I am so thankful for the love I get to experience every day.

I'll be 30 tomorrow, and I am okay with that.

I don't know what my thirties will hold, but I am hopeful. I am excited.

I am welcoming this new decade with open arms, with this man by my side, and with a sense of peace in where I have come from and where I am headed.