I turned 30 last Saturday, and rang in the start of a new decade with burritos, a bottle of single-malt scotch, Rocky Patel cigars and the company of my friends and family.
A couple of questions asked with varying degrees of seriousness from my friend Brian and others is what wisdom I feel I’ve gained up to this point and what are my goals going forward.
Truthfully it’s just more of the same. I do want this to be the year that Surreality sees the light of day, and is something I can share with all of you. I’m considering the possibility of smaller versions of myself either through losing weight or other conventional means. I think it’s a good year to read more, including a pass at reading the Bible all the way through. And I’ve got about 8 books I want to write. Maybe I can get them all done or at least drafted by the time I’m 40, though by that time I bet there’ll be 10 more ideas.
I’m extraordinarily blessed. I have a wonderful wife of more than 6 years. I have good friends and family, and a great church home. I’m curious about the world and the kind of stories I can tell, and I have a dog and cat who provide endless amusement and companionship (well, the dog does anyway). I have a home, and a big yard where I can enjoy my wife’s handiwork. I have an office where I can be surrounded by books, and still be able to carry a library with me in my pocket. Life’s pretty good.
Once nice thing is that I might finally get people to stop looking at me and be surprised that I’m in my 20’s. I don’t know if this means I’ve looked 30 or maybe even 40 for years, but it is nice to be a little more settled without being rigid. I do feel like I have a slightly better idea of what 40 will look like and maybe even 50. Not physically yet, but those people are feeling less like senpai’s and more like peers.
Like all adult birthdays this feels like both a milestone and just another day. It’ll probably take me a while to even think of myself as a 30-something, though in some ways I’ve been doing it for a while. And I had my first senior moment last week (well actually probably not the first). I put toothpaste on my toothbrush, and then raised the brush to comb my hair. I stopped myself maybe an inch from my head.
It’s all downhill from there.
Actually, I can’t wait for another day. Especially when that day includes leftover burrito fixings.
[BTW] : Ben Trube, Writer 