One More Day

One more day of my 30s. I find this fact to be absolutely amazing. How'd I get here? And how is this possible?

I handled turning 30 by being pregnant. I am handling turning 40 by running a half marathon. At this point in my life, that is definitely the better choice.

A quick recap of the last 10 years, since I'm feeling somewhat nostalgic:

• Age 30:
  
• Career shift to Gifted Education instead of self-contained elementary.
• The birth of my beautiful daughter, DD2.
• An incredible 13 months of nursing her and learning how to be a mom to two children 2.5 years apart.
  
• Age 31:
  
• A fabulous 10th anniversary cruise with my [now ex-]husband.
• Completely engrossed with toddlerhood and pre-school.
  
• Age 32:
  
• Beginning of my doctoral program. I started to come alive again in an academic environment
• Learning how to balance... mom, working full time, graduate student, wife.
  
• Age 34:
  
• Therapy, thanks to my doctoral program :)
• Purchasing my first car on my own
  
• Age 35:
  
• Completion of Doctorate
• Career change to higher education
• Moving out "on my own" with my kids
• Adjusting to life as a single mom - both kids now in school
  
• Age 36:
• Getting divorced
• Buying my own house
• Learning how to handle the house and yard without "help" [the trick is to pay others to do it - who knew?]
  
• Age 37:
• Discovering the joys of being a "mentor leader"
• Vacationing with my kids and friends in the Grand Canyon
• 20th high school reunion
  
• Age 38:
• Celebrating my birthday by taking kids on a cruise
• Love and loss
  
• Depression
  
• Discovering the benefits of exercise
• Building and re-building friendships
  
• Age 39:
• Running! and Races! Culminated by a half marathon!
  
• Reconnecting with old friends
• Savoring time spent with my children
  
• Taking risks and making new friends, some thanks to my random facebook adventures
• Dating again - yeah, that's a trip!
  

My 30s looked nothing like what I could have imagined 10 years ago. And while there have been highs and lows, I've learned that I am strong, capable, and worthy of life's blessings over the past 10 years. Which leads us to 40, and the inevitable wondering of what lies ahead when one hits a milestone. I googled "turning 40" earlier, and I found this - it's attributed to Oprah Winfrey:

At 40, something magical happens to you--something liberating and rejuvenating and exhilarating. You acquire a healthy disregard for what other people think. You gain the confidence to define yourself boldly and on your own terms. You don't accept anyone else's judgments but your own. In short, you stop living your life for other people and start living it for yourself. The force is with you because, at long last, it is in you.

So, one more day. I'm feeling pretty darn good about what lies ahead.

Bring it, 40!