Life Before Turning 30

Today I take my blogging mobile as I type from my airplane headed to Newark, New Jersey. Once I get there I will take a shuttle to my New York City hotel in Manhattan and enjoy 3 1/2 fun filled days and nights in NYC.

It's going to be fun an exciting, but I have something to admit: I'm running away. You see tomorrow is a big milestone in my life as I turn 30 years old. Now don't get me wrong, I want to live a nice long life -- BUT I really don't want to be 30. Yikes! In previous years past I have always looked forward to my birthday, but this year I don't really want to think about it. I am running away to NYC, which is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, so that I could have something to look forward to instead of dread. You know what? It's working. I've hardly given my birthday any thought at all. Now talk to me tomorrow when people are calling asking what it feels like to be 30. I might have to turn my phone off!

I think I fear a loss of youth and physically looking older. I'm happy with this point in my life. A good friend of mine pointed out all that I have accomplished before I hit 30. When she said that a light bulb went off in my head -- perhaps I was thinking of this transition in the wrong way! I was solely focused on the turn in my life once reaching 30. I hadn't stopped to think about the journey getting here.

Those who know me know that I have been through a lot in life. I have pulled myself out of poverty so extreme that many people don't realize children in the US can live as I did. I have dealt with many extreme situations and struggles in many aspects of my life. I am often told I am wise for my years; well that's just because I've had to do a lot of living.

This blog entry is an exercise for myself in trying to figure out what I consider my accomplishments before turning 30 to be. So, self ... what things come to mind? First and foremost is that I have shifted the focus of my life to where it should always have been: to the Lord. I've always had faith and been a believer but I haven't always focused my life as I should have or attempted to find God's purpose for me. I have launched a bible blog -- Everyday Bible Blog already. I applied to graduate school last week. And the day before yesterday two patents were filed with my name on them.

I've been to many places in my life because I was a navy brat. But I have also gotten to go places and do things of my own accord that were on my bucket list. I got to walk around Washington DC. I took a cruise to the Bahamas and had a fantastic time. I took my kids to Disney World, a place I had never gotten to go before. And now I'm on a plane headed to NYC, one of my top wish list destinations.

I guess I have done a lot before I turned 30 and I should try to focus around that. I was never one of those people who had my life mapped (by 28 I will be married, first kid at 31, etc). But I guess if I were to go back 10 or 15 years and make a list, most of this stuff would be on it and I'd still be completely satisfied with where I am by the time I turned 30. I hope the Lord blesses me with a long life, because now I have to see what I can accomplish by the time I turn 40!