What I've Learned Since Age 30

Today I am celebrating turning yet another year older. I've always had a difficult time excepting my age and I avoid, in all my efforts, to never reveal my true age. Yes, I've even lied about my age before (sting gun me now).

But when I look back, I have to say I wouldn't want to go back. On this day of reflection, I started thinking about what I have learned since I was age 30.

A lot. Yes I have learned a lot - some surface stuff, some deep stuff. But, I will have to say, the year that I enjoyed being the most from all my years of life (notice how I still avoid telling you my age) is age 30. Not 29, but age 30.

Here is what I have learned about myself and life since I was my favorite age:

1. My favorite colors are lemon yellow and some pinks. Seriously. I've always said it was blue, but now I have come to terms that I am a bit more girlie than I would have liked to admit. (Yes, I did say some things were a bit on the surface, but hang in there with me.)
   
   
2. I actually am a bit crafty and do like to go to Michael's Craft Store and JoAnn's Fabrics. Growing up I hated art class and "craft time." It was later while a production manager when I discovered more about the differences in paper and some graphics tips that I started making handmade Christmas cards for our family and then later for others. Now I want to start making crafty t-shirt with cool designs and I also want to learn how to make jewelry. Who knew - but don't put me in the crafty category quite yet.
   
   
3. I love being a mom. I'm not one of those who dreamed of having a family, buying a home, and "settling down." Count me out people! I wanted to have a career and travel.  Experience life, explore, and be free. Having kids was not on my agenda. I'm just not a kid person. But, low and behold, I had two kids and I just love being a mommy. I love my boys and now, even as they are in elementary school, I still smile when I hear them call me "mom." It certainly is such a privilege and an honor to be a mother.
   
   
4. I discovered that my favorite "holiday" is Mother's Day! (After Christmas of course.) I love that day and my "boys" spoil me terribly. I like this day better than my birthday. I know I share Mother's Day with so many other people, but I still can't believe I get to mother these beautiful boys.
   
   
5. I've been selfish all these years. Okay, so I kind of known that before I turned 30, but now I really know it. Once you get married and then later have kids, our perspective on ourselves certainly changes when we have to share things, save money, and give up our time. I think back at some of the fabulous birthday presents or the acts of love people have given to me in the past and just didn't appreciate it as much as I appreciate it now.
   
   
6. To embrace life. Why is it that we give ourselves age deadlines? Example: At age 21 need to graduate from college, get married no later than age 25, by age 30 have all my babies, by age 35 need to live in our dream home, at age 40 be the best in my profession, by age 45 own a second home, and by age 50 I need to be whatever people say at that age.
   
   Let me just say, those were not my goals, and even if they were, I am so way behind the "schedule." Anything can happen along the way to kick you off your age track. Death in the family, financial problems, meet spouse later in life, infertility problems, loss of job, bad economic times, and the list goes on.
   
   If you miss your age deadline then you feel old and disappointed and you have missed out on what you could have enjoyed in that stage of life. Embrace today. We are still young. My golly, I remember fearing turning age 30 - for goodness sakes, at that age we are still young and I'm still young now. Why do I have to act like "my age" anyways? Let's embrace life and LIVE.

Here is to living our life today and not putting age limits. I'm all about goals, but don't let it keep you from enjoying today.

Here is to another year. Let's live it to the fullest today.

What have you learned in the last ten years?
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Next week we have a guest blogger and you are just going to love her story. The following week we'll talk about when to tell your child about Santa and when to allow them do other "grown-up" things. Thanks for taking this journey together.
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Thankful and Content, At Least for Now

We arrived at 1 am. The air was a frigid 29 degrees.

We woke the kids up; pulled on our sweatshirts, the eldest child of our two managed to zip up a broken zipper in pitch dark; and we grabbed our bags and hunted for our one bedroom cabin in a non-moon lit night.

The boys pulled their red and yellow-green, $5.00 Target-special suitcases among the pine needles and dirt while the oldest in his unabashedly, over dramatic tone of voice announced to the world that he was so cold and this was "the hardest thing I have ever had to do!" Of course our cabin was located in the most obscure location, off the beaten path, and I'm pretty sure that our arrival woke many a sleepy visitor.

I’m still really not sure how we found our little spot in the darkest of night.

Being Close to Nature Makes One Thankful

We woke to the morning light all geared up for the chill, and as we looked up, once we were in the fresh air, we saw the big boulder that rises nearly 5,000 feet above the valley floor, cut by a massive ice mass many moons ago. Half Dome in Yosemite, California is an amazing piece of rock to look up to at any point of the day. The trees around us were dense and the vibrant colors abound. The waterfalls were peaceful and the land was a beauty to behold.

I have to confess, a great way to be kowtowed to thankfulness is waking up to nature's beauty. What a great place to be on Thanksgiving vacation. I was so thankful for God's creation and I was reminded of all the other wonderful things in my life that I was thankful for.

Suffer From Discontentment

Now, as my husband will confirm, I suffer from what is called, "discontentment." I just can't live where I want to live, I just can't be completely satisfied with my job, I'm just not where I want to be at this age, and for every year older I turn I just wish I was a year younger. Sometimes it is difficult to have a clear vision, a bigger picture as to where I am today and why I should be thankful.

Not A Moment Too Late

Today, on the last day of November, I thought I better sneak in this post about Thankfulness before it turned midnight of the next month. It was not my intention to write this post on the last day of the month, I just couldn't write it earlier, because I've been sick with the stomach flu.

Let's Be Specific People

Which leads me to what I am thankful for. Now, please beg my pardon, I'm kind of tired of hearing all that sappy stuff about "how wonderful my husband is," and "I have the best family." Not that I'm not happy for those people, because frankly, there are many out there who are in abusive relationships or who are isolated from their family. I know, but let's just add some more specifics to our thankfulness.

I confess that we did the traditional go around the Thanksgiving table and share what we were thankful for last week. You know, family, friends, food, and God were the top items on the list. It was my oldest child who changed things around a bit. Here is what he said in a nut shell:

"I am thankful for those who have gone before me and have never given up. I think of Walt Disney and how he was rejected for his ideas and yet he never gave up. I'm thankful for my dad who never gave up and became an architect…. I'm also thankful for my brother and how he surprise tackles me and how he looks out for me. I'm thankful for my grandma and how she has taught me so much about life and how things work. I'm thankful for my mom for taking such good care of me and for scratching my back when I am sick…."

What I Am Thankful For

He went on, and I was pretty sure he could be a speech writer. It also made me think about what specific things I was thankful for:

• Since my husband was sick the first two days of vacation, my oldest child on the day before Thanksgiving, me the day after Thanksgiving, and now my youngest child on the last day of November - we are thankful for our health. Yes, I'm thankful for our health. We are not struck by disease, cancer, or any other long-term ailment. This fact is something to be immensely grateful for.
  
• That I was able to give birth to two boys during this day-and-age and not in a covered wagon, because frankly, the boys and I may not have survived. As much as I would like to be al'natural at giving birth, my body was not built to push children through that pelvic area. I am forever thankful for the doctors and medicines that bring in life safely.
  
• Humor. My husband has quite the wit and my sons can crack the jokes and I love to laugh. I don't have the advance humor to be able to make others laugh, but I'm good at laughing with others.
  
• I'm thankful for Christmas parties, because that was when I met my husband 14 years ago.
  
• And I am also so very grateful that God had the foresight to direct several people to write down what they witnessed and then directed others to put all those stories together to form the Bible and leave us with a message of love.
  

In Spite of Discontent
For all those things I’m discontent about, the above things I’m thankful for puts everything in perspective. Okay, what are you thankful for?

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Seattle: The Land of Lattes, Ferry Boats, and Down-To-Earth People

I have been wanting to travel to Seattle for about twenty years. I've seen "Sleepless in Seattle," and watched "Fraser," as well as the swooping aerial views on "Grey's Anatomy," and I've been sure the city has been calling my name.

The rain makes me happy and I don't mind the perpetual grey clouds, and I also love the winter attire of boots, tights, and coats. But here in San Diego, well I just can't remember the last time it rained and if I wear my favorite, boots, tights, and skirt combination here in sunny San Diego by afternoon I'm overheated and have to go home and change anyway. Forget about getting J.Crew's wool-blend ribbed tights because their is no use for it around here.

(And just to let you know, living here in sunny Southern Cal I only own one pair of shorts and I don't enjoy wearing sun dresses. I feel so exposed. I'm not a summer-weather-attire type of girl, but oddly enough, can withstand high temperatures without feeling miserable - the very reason people think I could not survive any other place. )

So last weekend I finally got to experience Seattle on a surprise trip. As you might have read in my last post, my husband swept me off my feet and took me on a celebratory weekend away to an unknown place. The place? Yes, he took me to Seattle. I have, after all, been moaning about not being able to go to that far north western city for quite sometime now and I think he thought it was high time to take me there.


And we went. Arrived on a sunny day. There are a few details I observed about this grand city just south Canada:

• When it is sunny, it looks different than a sunny day down here just north of Mexico. One does not need sunglasses and the rays are a tint of orange-red, and sparkles from glimmer of water fresh from a recent rain.
  
• There is not much fashion and I only saw one person wearing the tights, boots, skirt combo. Come on people. Perfect weather opportunity. The North Face jacket and the Nike running shoe seems to be the attire for the city. We went to see an evening movie and only observed the above combo and reflected that in San Diego tennis shoes are mostly only worn when running or playing a sport. Oh, and we were there on a Friday night - date night and chance to wear your best gigs.
  
• Department stores and hotels have their thermometers set at a high temp. Yes, it's cold outside, but the minute you walk inside it's take outer layer off time (seriously concerned about their heating bills). Observation: in San Diego there is not much of a temperature change from outside to inside. Many stores don't even have air conditioning and if they have a heater, it is set low enough so that people can keep on their sweaters or jackets.
  
• Where are the 7-11 and five-and-dimes stores? This ain't no New York City folks. No joking around here. There are no billboards or flashing lights on buildings and later I figured out why there is not those conveniences stores on every corner.


• Speaking of every corner, on one street corner my husband and I saw three different Starbucks from one vantage point. There are so many coffee shops. Unlike New York City where cafe's can claim they have "NYC Best Coffee," Seattle is vying for the title, "The Best Coffee In the Entire World." No messing around with their lattes.


• Not that I observed so many of them, it is just that the homeless were really bad off. I live in an area of freely roaming homeless and I'm rather familiar with who hangs out where. But those who are on the streets in Seattle looked seriously destitute. One lady had a sign that said something like, "I have two small kids and I just got laid off. Please help me." She was actually sobbing with big tear drops coming down and her face contorted in desperation as she shakingly held up her sign up. One evening we saw a homeless sleeping in the a door entry in a down- sleeping bag. He looked scared. Would he make it through the night? On the news, it said that shelters were running low on food. There was such a need.
  
• Those Seattleians are not only proud of their coffee, but also of their ferry system.
  
• The city keeps going on - not like Beijing or anything, but it is much bigger than I ever expected.
• We were both very surprised to observe quite a few smokers! I thought this city was one of the healthiest in the US so we were both amazed that smokers were abundant. We conclude that it might be because it was cold outside and smoking kept a person warm - around here most smokers were the young rebellious types.

On our way out, we hurried to the airport only to find we were seven hours early (uh, a bit of my easy-going husband's oversight) so we signed up for stand-by on a flight in two hours. We went through inspections and I was pulled aside for a jar of jam we bought at Pike's Place. I put it in my larger bag and went back to check in as baggage. When I came back through the line, I took off my belt, boots, coat, scarf, and, after the instruction of the baggage inspection person, took off my precious necklace.

The necklace was a large glass heart hanging from a silver circle band that was given to me as a mother's day gift last year. I set it on top of all my things and pushed it along on the conveyor belt only to watch it fall off the stack onto the belt and then through the rollers to the tiled floored into shattered pieces. The manager came over, wrote up the report and handed me the paper to file for a claim. I told the manager that my heart was broken in Seattle.

Who knows if I will ever get the chance to go back to the beautiful city with the greener than green lands and the nice down-to-earth people, but now that I'm back here in Southern Cal I'm trying my very best to embrace what I have here and enjoy the sunny, warmer weather. My tights, boots, and skirt attire, well I can appreciate them from afar and save them for another trip to another place. Until then, here’s to the perpetual sunny days and 70 degree weather here and I will continue to love and admire Seattle from a distance. Until the next visit, thanks Seattle for your lattes, breathtaking aerial views, comfortable attire, and beautiful city. You should be proud.

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