Whelp. It’s here. Today I turn 30–THE BIG 3-0! This seems like quite the milestone, so I felt like I should devote a post here to my thoughts on entering a new decade of life. I’ve had a lot of people asking me if I’m nervous about turning 30. Contrary to what some people may expect, I’m actually quite excited about it. The truth is, I’ve been waiting a long time for this birthday!

This will just go to show what a precocious child I was, but I have dreamed of this day since I was a little girl. I remember driving somewhere with my mom–I was about 5 years old–and I was frustrated about something that I couldn’t do yet (I don’t remember exactly what it was–maybe it was being able to drive a car, or getting to choose the radio station or, most likely, having the authority to tell someone younger than me what they should or should not do). At any rate, I was feeling rather remorse and I asked my mom how old she was. “33,” she told me. That’s it, I decided–once I reach that age, I will have it made. And from that moment on I have dreamed of being in my 30’s.

Some people associate this magic age with being “old”–it seems like every woman just wants to remain in her 20’s forever (like a certain friend of mine who, on every birthday, says “I’m 29 for the __th time”). I remember seeing an episode of Friends where Rachel turned 30 and it was such a big deal–they acted like she was dying or something! For me, though, it’s just the opposite. Gone are my 20’s when I had to worry about passing college exams, getting that cute boy in the front row to notice me, and start a career. I am moving on now to bigger and better things.

I feel like I have finally hit my prime. My body is strong–I’m even running a half-marathon this weekend to prove to myself that I’ve still got “it”. I have everything I could possibly want at this point in my life–a loving husband, two beautiful babies, wonderful friends, and a comfortable home to share life with my loved ones. And life just keeps getting more exciting–with our Big Move coming up shortly I don’t even know what my life will look like a year from now. And I think that’s amazing–that at 30 years old I can have both stability and adventure, the known paired with the unknown.

So, happy 30th birthday to me. Little 5-year old Allison, you can stop waiting for better days. They have arrived. Carpe diem.