My Next 30 Years

I think I'll take a moment to celebrate my age. The ending of an era and the turning of a page. Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here...Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done. Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears, and I'll do it better in my next thirty years...Cry a little less, laugh a little more. Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear.
- Phil Vassar (courtesy of his song "My Next Thirty Years")

So a couple of people have recently posted about how quickly time seems to go by, and how they can't believe that it's already September and that the year is almost over, or that they have a daughter starting kindergarten. Inevitably, with the start of September, I start thinking about my upcoming birthday. I'm turning the big 3-0 this year, and it's really hard to believe that shortly, I will no longer be "in my 20's". I'm passing over to a new age bracket on most applications/surveys/random age groupings that do nothing more than allow people to categorize you in some way.

Needless to say...I've been doing some thinking over the past few weeks. One of the blogs that I read on occasion celebrated her 30th birthday by listing 20 highlights of her 20's. It was actually pretty cool to read, but I have to be honest...I'm not sure that I could come up with 20 highlights for the past 29 years.

There are definitely things that I am proud that I have accomplished, and that I am glad that I experienced. Some things haven't necessarily been highlights, per se. In some instances, I would categorize them more as LOWlights, but they are experiences that have helped me discover who I am, what I believe in and have definitely taught me some very valuable life lessons. So, in honor of the fact that I will soon be celebrating "The Big One", I'm going to take a moment to celebrate my age (and some of the things that I have done), and then focus on where I go from here for "my next 30 years".

Here are, in no particular order (since I'm writing this while taking care of Keegan and watching my visiting teacher's twin girls at the same time), Shauna's Top Moments from the past 29 years:

#1. Graduating (FINALLY) college: hey, after 10 years (yeah, I know pretty sad) I feel like I really earned that degree. Granted, I had some times of not being in school (*cough* Vegas *cough*), so I wasn't really in school for 10 years straight, but still...definitely a top moment of my life.

#2. Finally getting a passport (and actually using it).

#3. Traveling for 3 weeks with Cynthia through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Honestly, 3 weeks was not enough for this trip, and I would willing do it all over again. Cynth and I didn't always get along growing up (not really a surprise to anyone I think), but I wouldn't have wanted to do this trip with anyone else. Taking that time off of school was totally worth it, and I really feel like we got to know each other on a totally different level. Plus, as an added bonus, I got to see her at the beginnings of her relationship with Ryan (I loved looking for "Alice in Wonderland" postcards for her to send him, just to let him know that she missed him) which has made me appreciate the relationship that they have even more.

#4. Visiting Valerie in Paris for a week. Spending 3 days at the Louvre (well, a part of 3 days), eating crepes from a street vendor, sipping the BEST hot chocolate at Angelina's (Angelina's African hot chocolate) that was literally melted chocolate bars with whipped cream, visiting Versailles, watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, having the best personal tour guide ever!! (thanks Val), and pretty much just being in Paris was a definite top moment...especially since it's right around the time that AJ and I started dating, so it really holds a special place in my heart.

#5. Living in Vegas. Granted there are a lot of moments during my time in Vegas that are really more LOWlights than highlights, but this was truly the first time I was on my own, and I learned a lot about myself, and made a lot of mistakes, but I survived and lived to tell about it.

#6. Marrying AJ...granted, I'm sure that this is a given, but honestly, marrying him was the greatest blessing in my life. He has made me want to be a better person, simply because he is such an amazing person. I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to find someone like him who amazingly, loves me despite all of the mistakes and stupid things that I have done in my life. I'm truly lucky to have him as my husband.

#7. Having Keegan...again, another given, but this little boy challenges me in ways that I never thought possible, and I love him more completely than I knew that I had the capacity to do. He brings so much joy and laughter and tears into our home and our life that it's hard to remember what it was like before he came along.

#8. Becoming a homeowner. Granted, this wasn't going to happen until I was married, since there was no way I could afford a home on my own, but I love having a place that is all our own. We can do whatever we want to it and don't have to worry about landlords, or contract violations or eventually having to change it back to the way it was. And I love that someday we'll have a yard to play in and enjoy.

#9. Buying my first car. It might have been used, but it was all mine. And it's held up pretty well. I don't get to drive it as much now, since there's no way I want to deal with taking a car seat in and out of a 2-door car every day, but that car is still *mine* and I still love it and get excited when I think about it.

#10. Surfing in Hawaii. I haven't done it since, and I probably won't ever be a surfer, but it's nice to know that I can still say that I've surfed, and actually gotten up on a board and stood on it before I fell off.

So...what's up for my next 30 years? Well, I definitely want to add more kids to our little family. What can I say, I grew up with a lot of siblings, and while I know that there is no way we can afford to have 7 kids, I know that I want more than just one. I want to grow old with AJ, and spend time traveling the world with him. I can't wait to go back to France, or England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with him to show him the places that I have already seen, but also I can't wait to discover new places with him as well (and maybe on occasion, our kids as well). I look forward to getting completely out of debt, and paying off our home. I want to continue learning and expanding my horizons. Most of all, I just want to keep on loving, laughing and living.

Here's to my next 30 years!