I won't suggest that I am not excited about my upcoming birthday. I mean... its my day.. let me put it this way: its a day I can ask my wife for a massage and expect it to last more than 30 seconds... that is special. But I must say that there is a very real sadness about leaving my twenties. Perhaps its just the newness of the sensation, the first time you desire to NOT get older. My brain has been wired to want to be 8 years old so I can get baptized, to want to be 12 so I can go to scout camps, to be 16 so I can drive, to be 18 so that I am finally an adult, to be 21 to.... know that I could drink if I wanted to, then it subtly becomes less exciting every year: yay I am turning 26 now I get to...rent a car by myself.... or yippee I cant wait to turn 30 so that I can.... pay a little less for car insurance... Oh man! And who reflects fondly on their thirties? Even if they weren't that bad, nobody ignores the twenties and starts talking about how wonderful and adventurous their thirties were.
Think about it, for a few more hours, I am in the same category as that bright eyed, dream-filled, optimistic college sophomore, and in a few hours I will be in the same broad category as folks who are on the verge of midlife crisis, who have children in high school!!... No offense to you 39 years olds out there, and in all fairness, there is certainly a young man turning twenty out there who is so absorbed by the fact that he is closer to twenty one that he is not thinking about the fact that he is briefly in the same category as me, an 8 to 5er who has stopped playing basketball daily because his knees hurt, and who gets an enormous kick out of doing yard work.
Here is the long and short of it: My twenties have been fantastic! They had drama, sadness, and frustration, but they were packed with adventure, love, accomplishment, learning, and jubilation. Our human calendar makes me think that somehow that is over. I guess I should be celebrating the dawning of a new era. An era that will build on the previous decade's success. Ok.... lets go ahead and do it. Bring it on 30!!!
8 comments:
Happy birthday tomorrow Jakie! Yeah, Annie should cater to your every desire for you BIG birthday!
Happy B-Day Jake, turning 30 is very weird, I have found my first gray hairs that aren't going away, and taking the Scouts on trips I now say that I am 30 years old on the permit. I think that we need one of those moments from Apsen when we find clarity for what we want out of our 30ties. So that we dont get to 39 and say..."well I dont have much to show for my 30ties so here comes some uneventful 40ties." In the words of Steve Prefontaine..."To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Lets rock our 30ties.
Hey, 30 is the new 20! i have some experience with this 'little crisis' you just have to plug away. i had the weird realization that in 7 years i will be 40? and it hasn't left me for 3 months!! an age is just a number, it is all about how you feel my brother. Just keep thinking about Dad, you have to live twice your life to equal his and he is still 'active and doing Jake type things...' happy birthday brother!
Happy birthday Jake! I hit the big 30 last week, and I'm already for the retirement home myself. Actually, it hasn't been too bad so far. Of course, this is from a guy who had 3 surgeries in his early 20's, so I guess I felt 'Old' a long time ago anyway, so maybe I'll pull a Benjamin Button and start feeling younger...Anywho, have a good one man!
Jake, HAPPY BIRTHDAY my wonderful son. I just want to tell you that I loved the 30's. And the 40's were even better. And I must say that the 50's are the best so far. I'll be honest, I do miss some things from each decade, but there is MUCH to enjoy in the one I am in. I love you Jake and am proud to know you are my son, and truly enjoy and am blessed to have you as my friend. I helped create you....and I saw that it was good. :) Love you Jacob, Mom
I admit- i am dreading 30. I guess there are just alot of things that i want to do "while I'm young". gone are days when i can walk onto a college campus or into a trendy store at the mall without getting those "do you really belong here" looks. -crazy when did that happen! At least we are all in it together. we can enjoy each season a little more knowing htat the people that matter most are getting old right along with us! if it makes you feel any better, i thought you were already 30! so it's no huge adjustment to me :)
Happy Birthday my brother!
I am struggling a bit with the fact that you are turning 30 because it is the first time anyone younger than me in the family has turned 30--ya can't help feeling a little old when you tell your friend that today is your brother's birthday, and she asks how old, and you realize...he is turning 30! Didn't I just turn 30? How old am I?
OK, so it wasn't actually too traumatic.
I like what Josh said, "New 20s" and what Rachel said about us all being in this together.
Love ya!!
Welcome to the 30's. We are happy to have you a part of the group.
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