Birthdays and Dreams

WARNING
This is gonna be one of “those” posts. You have been advised, proceed at your own discretion.
I am turning 30 this year. Yep, the big 30. Anybody even 6 months older will scoff and say, “You’re still a baby”. Anyone younger will nod along and pretend like they still consider me part of their age group. My youngest sister, my own flesh and blood, thinks I’m old, and I am only one person-who-can-ride-a-bike older than her!
I’m not the type to freak out over milestone birthdays, nor am I assuming much will change overnight just because I will be in my (GASP!) 30’s. But I feel like for a lot of people, like myself, there is a certain amount of thought and reflection that goes into changing something big like your age group in official documents. 30-40’s? Check that box for me!
While this is a sappy age post, it is not a boo-hoo fest. I am glad I have learned, experienced, aged, and maintained at least a tiny bit of grace. There are a lot of accomplishments I am proud to say I have reached in my 3 decades on this earth, and I have few, if any regrets. Which leads me to where I find myself today. Pondering about what the next decade will bring, and backing out of my 20’s awkwardly and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Did I do enough during the past 10 years to leave the twenty something title comfortably? Sure. Did I do everything planned on when I was 19? NO.
For clarification, I don’t want to do a lot of the things I wanted then. Some are no longer realistic or even practical. Even if I had the chance to leave for a year to do greenpeace or some relief organization, I don’t want to leave my kids or Hubs for that long, and I also don’t want to make that type of commitment or trip with small children in tow. It’s hard enough to travel to the east coast to visit the inlaws. Do I still want to buy a motorcycle. HELL NO. And I don’t want Hubby to do so either (yeah, I’m talking to you C). Would I still like to backpack around Europe? Not when I’ve experienced the plushy comforters and lovely meals of nice hotels. Also, I stayed at a hostel once. ONCE. That was enough.
A lot of my 20’s bucket list items can now be either crossed off as completed or removed altogether. But there is one that nags. A single item I thought I would have done by now and just never got around to. Running a Half Marathon. Why not a full? Because I’m not insane, and also not really a “runner”. I am a person who used to really like to run, and kinda did it ok, sorta. The closest I got was the few years before my wedding, I used to run 5ks annually for a women’s cancer organization. I just never signed up for that ½. I’ve spent the last almost 4 years either pregnant or nursing, and just left my running aspirations aside. If I can accomplish one more thing from my 20s bucket list, it will be this.
I am registering for the Disneyland Super Heroes Half Marathon this November. Technically it will be 2 months after I am 30, but I will training and preparing for it for my last few months as a 29-year old. Wish me luck! And send me some Bengay or something, I’m freakin old.

This is not my cake. I have to use a picture of my daughter’s last birthday cake because obviously I photograph everyone else’s cake but never my own.