So tomorrow I turn 30… and just like every other birthday for at least the last 10 years I am not excited about getting another year over… but this year I feel a little more ready for it. 30 has been something that has been looming for a while… 30 years in fact, but more so in the past 12 months. Something that I have spent a lot of time thinking about and something that I have finally decided won’t be as bad as I think it will be. So I thought I would continue my new tradition (from last year) to take a moment before it happens to reflect on the year that was 29 before it is gone altogether. But before I can reflect on the last 12 months… because 30 is also the end of a decade… it only seems right to look at the last 10 years as well…
20-30 is a big time of change… a lot of growing up… and while I don’t think I have being an adult down pat yet, I certainly feel more like an adult than a young adult. I am not sure if it’s my new found love of a quiet night in? Or my change in thinking around having to stand up and make a change if I don’t like something… but I feel like where I am at now, even though it may not be where I am forever, is an achievement…
20-30 has also been home to some of my happiest times as well as my most challenging… I have changed and grown, physically, mentally and spiritually. And while I wish I hadn’t grown quite as much physically… unless I could have gained some extra height… I am thankful for the lessons I have learned and the paths I have taken that have made my faith and mind stronger.
I have done so much in my 20s that I am not sure how my 30s will catch up, but I hope that they do… although, I am hoping our hardest path has already be walked… and the rocky patches ahead will not be quite as devastating.
Since I turned 20 I have…
- Completed… well attempted to complete my very first list (2007) and since attempted 8 more… I am currently on my 9th
- Returned to China to hang out with Dad and cross ‘Hong Kong Disney Land’ off my life long Disney visit bucket list (2007)
- Had my life outlook changed by a uni placement to Bourke (2008)
- Had 2 massive 21st parties
- Finished my Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (2008)
- Started running the Kids Church at Church and had the most epic YP Anniversary of all time with ‘Talkin’ about my generation’ (2009)
- Continued my red dirt obsession with trips to Broken Hill (2009) and Uluru (2016)
- Got a job in the country… Castlemaine to be exact… moved out of home and spent a year blogging about it (2009-2010)
- Had my 5 year and 10 year High School Reunions (2009 & 2014)
- Starred in Box Hill Salvos “Nativity Play’
- Got my first iPhone
- Ran 2 Half Marathons (2008 & 2013)
- Meet a cute little guy named Dex… and he moved in (2009)
- Bought my first new car and said goodbye to my faithful Saabie (2010)
- Experienced some snapshots of Europe… first with the Big Band in Sweden in 2010… then with Davo in 2015/2016
- Got Engaged (2010) and Married my very own Prince Charming (2011)
- Auditioned for Broadway (2010)
- Visited Disneyworld with my new Husband (2011)
- Visited NZ and my NZ family a couple of times (2012 & 2014/2015)
- Watched one of my little brothers get married (2012)
- Said goodbye to my second job as a Dietitian and moved to my current workplace at Link, where I have been able to expand my dietetics skills in to Marketing and IT (2013)
- Been Bridesmaid for 2 of my best friends (2014 and here)
- Brought my first house (2014)
- Graduated from uni twice… one for dietetics and then again for my teaching degree (2014)
- Watched both of my parents get remarried (2014, 2015)
- Worked out how to long distance best friend (2015)
- Recorded my first CD… well sung vocals on a Big Band CD (2017)
- Became a mum and had to say goodbye to my little man (2016)
- Got back up (2017)
A big 10 years… but I think the past 12 months have challenged who I am at my core more than any year before and I think lots of the things that I have done over the past decade have somehow prepared me for what happened… But there has also been lots to be thankful for and I have learnt a lot… so in my new tradition… here are 29 things I have learned, loved and lived in the past year that have helped me prepare for 30…
- Birthdays are excellent… No matter how much I have been nervous about embracing them… they are always fun… especially when Dave helps to plan them… tomorrow will be good.
- Epic milkshakes are indeed epic… and often overwhelming, they should be consumed with caution… and preferably with no other sources of lactose.
- Having a celebrity like a post… even if they are a fake one… is more exciting than it should be… they are just people…but it was Russell Coight
- Dave makes driving a bus look grand
- Trimester 1 of pregnancy is the worst… it is hard keeping a secret, especially a when you feel like poop and you have to convince everyone else you are fine… lets hope that the next one is somehow easier.
- Jells Park is way more beautiful than I ever gave it credit for growing up… I am really glad that it is my local Parkrun venue.
- Dex looks great in a bow tie
- Family is messy and hard to fit on a wall, but I wouldn’t change any of it
- Pregnancy cravings are weird… but turkish delight milkshakes are the bomb
- Having Josh was the best thing I have ever done, but it was also the hardest knowing he wouldn’t stay. Even if I knew what would happen I wouldn’t have swapped those 24weeks for anything.
- Colouring really is as good a distraction as they say it is…
- I still love my list, and I am really enjoying the simplicity of it this year, lots of local fun.
- 29 has been a year of home, embracing family, learning to breathe and dreaming for the future.
- This time last year I wrote ‘I am stronger and more capable then I think… I should remember this more often’, this is more true now then ever before.
- Whatsapp is great, but seeing your bestie face to face is greater, especially when you have time off to be able spend with them.
- I like being in the IT and Marketing teams… I also really like teaching. I am pretty blessed to work for such great places that encourage me to grow and learn new skills.
- Dancing in a strawberry suit isn’t as embarrassing as you think it will be, you should just embrace it.
- Dave is still the best person to have ever entered my life. He is strong, wise and loyal and I love him more than ever… plus he gets even better looking with age… who would have thought that was possible.
- I am getting better at throwing things out… lots of times you have to get rid of something old to make way for the new. I don’t need to be a hoarder to keep the memories.
- I have good people around me, my community if vast and wide and I often take it for granted, but Dave and I could not have gotten through the last 6 months without them.
- I love the country
- I love the AFLW and I am glad I was part of the first season.
- I love singing in a recording studio… it makes me feel like a superstar.
- New cameras are the bomb… but I desperately need to improve my photography skills.
- Practicing gratitude is important… my new daily habit of writing down 3 things is helpful… it’s making me see the good… I should keep this going because I still can’t make happiness, or just choose to be happy, but I can choose to fill my life with people, things and places that make me happy, I can choose to see the good and I can choose to seek better.
- I still love blogging… and I think I am getting better at it… I suppose that’s the plus side of honesty.
- I love to worship… I love learning about worship and I love Jesus… He is the only one worthy of my worship.
- My plans for my life might be good, but as hard as it is to accept sometimes, His ways are better. Life often seems unfair sometimes and we can’t always see the bigger picture… but we have to trust.
- I am still getting better at looking after myself, but just like last year I still have a long way to go… but this remains a top priority. I can’t do what I am called to do, if I can’t function.
29 you have been a challenge, you have been hard, but you have been worth it all… in fact 20s you have been great… better than I had ever hoped and totally different from what I expected.
I am holding on to the promise that my 30s will bring better things… I hope that I continue to learn more, love more and live more… 30 I am now ready for you.
Nov 21: Friendsgiving and Pumpkin Pie – Hanging out with people you love seems to be a theme of this thankfulness month, but I suppose it just highlights how grateful I am to have friends and family who I love and can spend time with. There is also something special about baking special treats for people too and today I made a pumpkin pie, thanks to a generous recipe share from a friend, just for Davo, although we all enjoyed it too, because praise the Lord it turned out pretty good.
The Most Curious George 