20 Highlights of my 20's

So I have decided to take my friend Steph's suggestion and do 20 highlights of my 20's along with hopes for my 30's. So over the next 17 days, in addition to my regularly scheduled parenting blog duties, I will also divulge some of the fun, fabulous and frightening events of my 20's to cajole myself gently into the realm of the thirtysomethings.

So, I will start at the beginning. (#1) My 20th birthday. At the time I was working the summer at Border's Bookstore, my hair was dyed a frightening shade of blond and I was dating Dave. The actual birthday was not particularly eventful, in fact, as I recall, my family decided to ignore that birthday because I left a messy kitchen. And when I say ignore, I mean no "happy birthday," no cake, no shit (hmmm... maybe this retrospective look back is not such a good idea). Suffice it to say, I will not be doing that to Samara. Ever. No matter how many cabinet doors she leaves open.

Okay, breathing deeply, moving on.... Anyway, the highlight of that birthday was a card from my best friend and roommate (Amy). She knew that I was sad about turning 20 and all that meant. And in her card she reminded me that aging was a gift. That with age we gain wisdom and maturity (can't you tell?) and that she appreciated turning 20 because it meant that there was a whole new decade of learning ahead of her. So, I am taking that advice into my 30's. A whole new decade, a new kind of life. When I turned 20, I don't remember what I thought the next decade would bring. I know I thought 30 was really old, but I wish I could remember where I thought I would be by now.

I probably thought I would be very grown up, havea good handle on my career and be rich. Not sure if I thought I would be married and have a child, but my guess is I assumed I would. I know I thought I would have a strong handle on myself and who I am. And I do. Mostly. But I am learning that 30 is a lot younger than I thought it was then. And if people are going to continue to say "40 is the new 30," then guess what--30 is the new 20 and 20 is the new 10, 10 is newborn and basically before that, you don't even exist.

For my 30's, I am hopeful that we will continue to add to our family in one way or another. The likelihood is that we will birth one more child and adopt a third (ZPG, baby). I would also like to get a puppy at some point in the next decade, maybe two (a chihuahua and a rottweiler). I am hoping my career will continue to grow in the direction I want and that I will eventually be writing regular film reviews, and personal essays and parenting magazine stories. I hope that on the eve of my 40th birthday, I can look back on my 30's with a lot of satisfaction and feel they were jam packed. I do not want to waste a second.