I'm Officially Old

A big thing happened - my 31st birthday! Holy cow! I'm pretty sure I officially qualify as an adult, yet, I often find myself searching for someone who is adult-ier than me. Am I grown up enough to be in a city by myself? To decide how to spend my time? To be trusted not to eat the entire jar of Nutella in one sitting? Well...apparently.

On my 30th birthday, I would have never in a million years imagined that my life would look the way that my life looks right now. A year ago, I was searching for house plans, and trying actively to get pregnant. Now, I've gone through a divorce, moved across the country for a job, and am figuring out life all on my own. And I'm okay. But I was worried that my birthday would be hard - that I would spend the day grieving the dreams that were lost. Fortunately that wasn't the case, and it was a very special day. Instead of being sad, I celebrated the awesome things I've accomplished over the past twelve months. I put in the hard work to rediscover myself. I asked the hard questions, even when I didn't like the answers. I didn't like who I saw in the mirror, so I changed it. I packed up and moved to a place where I literally knew one person (and not even very well), which was absolutely terrifying for me. But I did it. And while those things don't seem like big things on the outside, they are big, big things for me. Moving away has made it obvious that I was more than just a little sheltered in Smalltown USA; I am most definitely not the most interesting person around. But you know what? I'm proud of where I'm at, because it's so far from where I was. And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

This year I decided to participate in The Birthday Project. If you haven't heard of them, look them up. It's a challenge to do random acts of kindness for the day - most people aim for the number to match how old they are. I was aiming for 31 things, but I made it to 25. I've continued to look for opportunities though - don't wait for a special occasion to be kind! I can honestly say it was one of the most, if not the most, rewarding birthdays that I have celebrated. Some of my favorite things were free ones! I left notes on mirrors in bathrooms, notes on car windshields, put anonymous goodie bags on the doorsteps of my neighbors at midnight, brought in my boss's favorite drink, bought a coffee for someone, sent letters to friends, taped money and notes to vending machines at work, gave food to a homeless man, offered to take a picture for a family that wanted one with everyone in it, but didn't speak English to ask, and a few other things as well. I also asked my Facebook friends to do a random act of kindness as well, and several commented with things they had done: pulling up the car so a coworker wouldn't get wet from the rain, buying an extra shirt at school for a child who didn't have money, calling someone who had been really down and offering some encouragement, going on a walk with someone who wasn't feeling well. My heart was full.

 

 

In addition to that fun, I walked into the office to a sweet card, had flowers delivered from some girlfriends, received multiple cards in the mail, and a couple of gifts as well. After work I went out with a friend who insisted on making the day extra special, and had such a good time hanging out with him. It was a happy, happy birthday indeed.