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Our kiddos get so excited for their birthdays. Year after year, they look forward to a day of being spoiled and celebrated and of course, I was the same way as a child. As Joey gets older I notice him talking more and more about those milestone birthdays that I know I counted down the years to when I was his age. At 12 years old, Joey is talking about turning 13, finally being a teenager. He is also majorly counting down the years until he can earn a drivers license.
Teenager status, a drivers license, turning 18 and then 21, it's all exciting. But after the big 2-1, the excitement wears off. Can't we just celebrate the anniversary of turning 21 for the rest of our years?! I've been talking about it with my lifelong best friend for years, 30 was just this pending doomsday. We share a birthday week so chatting about turning 30 has been something we've basically dreaded since our early 20's. You know, because turning 30 is when you have to buy under-eye cream, push up bras and think about a retirement plan, yuk.
What I didn't expect is that by the time I turned 30 I would feel completely different about this birthday. Today marks 30 years for me and while it is surreal, I am completely and entirely grateful for the milestone.
I've accomplished everything that I had hoped I would have by 30 and I certainly don't say that in a boastful way. I say that and give that glory over to God. It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that while Joey is 12 and I am just now turning 30, we welcomed him to our family earlier than most become parents. With teenage pregnancy comes a heap of statistics about being uneducated and living in poverty. Being a teenage parent meant that I was supposed to have a drug or drinking problem and having to work more than one job. Truth be told, I only had a 38% chance of even earning my high-school diploma... Oh and there was an 80% chance that I would live my entire life on welfare. Instead, by the grace of God, I demolished every single statistic that comes along with teenage motherhood.
Since I'm being honest today, I might as well tell you that it's only been within the last year that I have started being honest with people about my age. So here I am, shouting from the rooftops that I am 30 years old and proud of it! It's not lost on me that so many people don't make it to age 30 and for that, I am so incredibly grateful for the life that I have been given and the love that surrounds me every single day.
I've never been big on New Years Resolutions but I always resolve to do something or change something on my birthday, sort of like my very own personal New Year. This year, my personal challenge is to concentrate more on my health and well-being. With that, comes my mental health and happiness and making sure that I am working on my own personal "bucket list." Besides my family, nothing makes me happier than traveling and creating memories. This year, I've created a challenge for myself to encourage more travel with my family and friends. My 30 Lighthouses At 30 challenge is really just a fun way to remind us to plan more travel and plan to create more memories! You can follow along with us on Instagram with the hashtag #30lighthousesat30 and all of our travels with the tag #outerbanksmomtravels.
Thank you all for the birthday wishes and love, cheers to the next 30! <
Excuse the windblown hair, our first stop on our lighthouse tour was on Nantucket Island, MA and it was insanely windy and wonderful!
