Hello 37, nice to see you. I’ve actually been waiting for you for awhile. I am feeling really, really good about this age and this stage of life and I was just really ready to be done with my “early 30s”…and 37 is for sure, officially, by anyone’s definition NOT “early” thirties. 🙂 And I can’t wait to be 40 either…but that’s another post.

Today I am feeling happy to be exactly where I am….which hasn’t always been the case. Remember when you were a kid and all you wanted was to be older?! Then some of those “magical” birthdays came and the magic didn’t come with them…you were still awkward or the freedom you hoped for was constrained by money or responsibility. And then there have been plenty of birthdays lately where you wished to be young again. Or at least carefree or with a little less bills and responsibility.

But right now, at this age, I am feeling good. I feel like sooooo much LIFE happened in my late twenties and early thirties. And it was a lot of great stuff, don’t get me wrong. Career change and cross-country move and marriage and home buying and having babies. Fantastic stuff, things I wanted, things others are still wishing for. I’m a lucky gal. But still, it was a lot…changes and transitions and growth and emotions and decisions… It’s funny, we think of how much babies physically grow or how much a child learn and absorbs in toddlerhood. But damn, I feel like I learned THE MOST in my early thirties. Well, I learned a lot in my early twenties too. But this decade took more out of me (blame the old age, I suppose. Or the kids.) And I’m thankful that I learned what I did. I am grateful for my experiences, good and bad. But I’m also glad I am exactly where I am now – a lot less stressed, a lot fewer major changes on the horizon, a lot more in touch with who I am and who I want to be and what I stand for and who I want in my life…all that stuff has taken years to figure out and instead of just feeling old, I feel smarter and more peaceful and more confident. Do I have it all figured out? Hell no! But I have reached a point where I am ok with not having it all figured out. And I think that’s the key.

So, a big fat HAPPY 37th BIRTHDAY to me!! Now, to start the countdown to 40! 🙂