Happy Birthday to me

Today is  30th  birthday.  It feels good to be thirty, the "3" feels like it adds a level of credibility to everything I say :).  It being a decade birthday, I've found myself intentionally reflecting more than usual.  I can say with absolute confidence that I'm proud of my 20s: I'm proud of the maturity, self-awareness and growth that happened over the last 10 years; I'm proud of finishing two degrees and launching a career that I find so much joy and meaning in; I'm proud of the highs and lows Jason and I have faced and come out the other side of; I'm proud of the relationships I've built and repaired; I'm proud to be a Mom.

Seeing that list, I wonder if any decade can possibly be as rich and life changing as this last one has!  Can I change in the next ten years as much as I did in the last?  It seems unlikely with 20s being so formative to my identity, but I think I'll aspire to all the same.  Reflecting on the last ten years is inspiring goals for the next ten, so here's what's on my heart as I sit here on my 30th birthday looking ahead to my 40th.

In the next 10 years I hope to: have a home with frequent guests who bless us and whom we can bless, prioritize my children and husband, go against the odds and do way more fun and adventurous things than a young family is expected to do, grow closer to "expertise" in group and trauma counselling, become more selfless, trust in God far more often than I trust in myself, visit Turkey and return to Italy, get much better at growing my own food, find ways to continue enjoying cooking as it becomes more of a required chore, have a teachable heart even as I learn and grow in understanding, spend very little time allowing guilt or shame to dictate who I am.

I look forward to reading this list in ten years, marveling at what came to be, and smiling as much more life experience reveals the joys and sorrows I could never have planned for.