10957
At 3:29 this afternoon, I turn thirty years old.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m really not at all encumbered by the weight of “the big three-oh.” In a lot of respects, this is just another day in my life (albeit one which manages to effortlessly buoy my spirits). It lacks the same all-encompassing glee that it manifested when I was still young enough to make distinctions like I’m not six; I’m six-and-a-half.
As milestones go, this one doesn’t trouble me. What can sometimes get to me a little is when I think that I’m only just now getting my act together, or when I look at some celebrities’ impressive accomplishments and discover that they’re younger than I am, sometimes by a decade or more.
But, all things considered, I’m excited about the possibility and promise of the next ten years. 
On this day:
- 30 years ago: I was born about two miles from my current location.
- 20 years ago: I was living in Copley, OH; in fourth grade; thinking that my dad was going to be transferred back to Phoenix that summer (we ended up moving to California instead); big-time into Transformers and He-Man.
- 10 years ago: I was in Toledo, OH, having moved out there with my girlfriend; secretly jazzed about no longer being a teenager; working at Best Buy as a computers “product specialist” (read: salesperson); moving into my own apartment for the first time ever.
- 5 years ago: I was dwelling in a mountain cabin in Forest Ranch, CA (and was dwelling upon the past); had weathered some of the worst of the Long Winter; went in to Chico for a birthday cake made by the ex, who said she “didn’t want [me] to be alone [that day]“; cried that night.
- 1 year ago: I was residing here in El Centro; lamenting my utter lack of birthday spankings; mourning the death of Mr. Rogers.
- Today: I’m still in El Centro, but not for too much longer; making jokes about how, in Roman times, this would be my “Triple-X” birthday :twisted:; thanking the Goddess for all the wonderful people that I have in my life.
- 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 years from now: I’ll let you know when I find out!
YAY! Happy Birthday!
Think about all of the people who never get their act together…. There’s WAY more of them than people who do it at 20 - and those people typicall fall back apart at 30, so don’t worry too much about it!