Hello 30, how are you?

Monday was my 30th birthday.  It was a low key day. It's hard to make a huge, elaborate celebration come together when we've only been in this new place for a few weeks, we've spent more money in one month than the last year, and more than both of those, we just don't have the oomph to do much more than relax and enjoy the fact that it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so Bill had the day off and we could hang out together as a family. It was a successful day. :)

That low key factor feels good to me.  I think it's a good way to start my 30s, or end the last year of my 20s, depending on how you want to argue how counting works. I generally take the latter approach, but for this 30 feels like a start, not an end. The 20s were good years.  I came into myself more and more as the decade progressed.  They were the years I earned my college degrees, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I discovered my love of the outdoors. I had a full time job. I got married to the love of my life and had two kids. I finally made it back into a family ward after years and years in singles wards. I learned tons about myself and made a lot of personal improvements. Sometimes things felt rushed. Other times it felt like life was taking forever to happen.  All in all though, it was a good decade.

But now I'm glad to start something new.  I'm where I want to be in life.  Taking the huge step to move far away from family feels good, though I miss them already. I don't feel in a rush anymore.  I could enjoy the slightly slower pace life has taken.  I don't need to rush to get this or that done.  I find my kids so delightful right now and it's so fun to watch them grow.  And they are growing fast.  Genevieve had an 18-month sized jacket on last night and it wasn't even that loose.  She'll be 5 months old next week. Spencer has started to demand a normal cup to drink from.  Little things, but it reminds me to enjoy their stages because they fly by as fast as their clothes sizes change.

So that's how I want to start my 30s.  Relaxed, enjoying the little things, and especially enjoying this time in our life to be together and enjoy a rich life together.  I didn't do a 30 before 30 list last year or anything really to commemorate my 20s because well, I didn't feel the need.  30 feels good.  It fits and I wasn't afraid of it. I don't feel old. I don't feel like I've lost something.  Life is good and I'm enjoying it. It's a really good place to be and I hope I can hang onto it in the long run.  So many things conspire to make that a hard thing to do, so I'm thinking particularly about it now and hopefully that helps to keep the feeling here for good.