a 30th to remember

WOWZA!!!! On January 18, I passed a huge milestone in my life when I turned 30!!!! I approached my 30th birthday with a mixture of excitement and a little bit of fear. I'm not gonna lie, 30 definitely makes me feel "older" and like life is passing by WAY too quickly. On the other hand, though, 30 seems strong and sophisticated. Like I finally know who I am, what I'm meant to do and I'm more content with just being me than I have been in my entire life! Growing older is so weird. I still feel about 17 on the inside but definitely notice a difference now when I work an event into the wee hours of the morning. I can nap these days, something I've never enjoyed doing. And I spend my Friday nights watching Disney movies with the kids, doing laundry and disinfecting the kitchen floor! Nothing says "I'm old" quite like finding happiness in removing a stubborn stain! Ha! There were so many feelings that came with turning 30 but one of the best feelings of all was the fact that at age 30 I have a group of friends who love me for who I am and who I love with all of my being. My friend, Jill, showed more than her fair share of enthusiasm about me turning 30 by throwing me THREE separate parties all in one week!!!!

The first party was a surprise get-together with a group of girlfriends from church! I went to work that day knowing I had dinner plans with three of my friends; Jill, Rachel and Salena. To be TOTALLY honest, when I got home from work there was part of me that didn't want to go to dinner that night. I was tired and just wanted to put on my pajamas and lay in bed. I knew that once I was at dinner, though, I'd have fun so I brushed my hair, put on some fresh deodorant and, most importantly, put a smile on my face! Jill picked me up and off to dinner we went! When I walked into the restaurant I immediately noticed one of my other friends, Julie, sitting at a table around the corner from where I was standing. At first, I still didn't catch on to what was happening. I simply thought Julie was out to eat that night too...that is until I fully turned the corner and there were several tables pushed together with nine smiling faces looking my way and yelling "Happy Birthday!" I was shocked! And a little bit embarrassed! Yikes! Of course, I was flattered too and excited that everyone had gotten together just for me! In all there was Julie, Salena, Rachel, Karmen, Sarah, Brittanie, Sherri, Jill and Erika...oh and myself of course! We ate dinner and then had some yummy cookie cake! I saw 30 in a whole new light (literally) as Jill put 30 candles, one at a time, on my cake and then lit each one. Good grief I'm old! The night was amazing! Little did I know this was only the beginning...

The cat had gotten out of the bag that Jill was throwing me yet another party. This one was intended to be a surprise too but secrets are hard to keep when so many people are involved. Nevertheless I was excited! That same week, on Friday, Jill hosted my "surprise" party at her house. It was a small party with some of my closest childhood friends. My sister Rae, Beth, April and Jill! When I got to Jill's house I was immediately greeted with a front porch vignette in honor of myself. SO overwhelming! Jill had set up a birthday sign with my picture on it and some Coca-Cola decorations, my favorite! When I walked into Jill's house I noticed just how far she had actually gone for my milestone birthday. First of all, she had looked up popular movies and TV shows from the year I was born and had had my face replaced into the main characters of all the posters. They were hanging throughout her living room! Of course, there was a Happy Birthday banner and best yet, she had made birthday t-shirts for me and all the girls at my surprise party! The tees had the "Top 10 List" of 1983 (the year I was born...) ending with #1 being that I was born! How cool! I felt so loved and so special. I'm not a person who likes much attention. I'm much more content to fade into the background. All this birthday party stuff was definitely out of my comfort zone but it was all so exciting! My friends are angels! Jill is an angel! We spent the ENTIRE night eating, making homemade fondue, telling stories, laughing and just being friends! It was wonderful! We ended up staying at Jill's until almost FIVE IN THE MORNING!!!! Goodness! I'm not sure if I've EVER stayed up that late before! In my whole life! I could hardly keep my eyes open the next day but it was oh so worth it! (And I had an excuse to drink tons of coffee!)

A couple of days later I was surprised yet again when myself, Brandon and our friends Doug and Jill went to the movies at The Warren. We got tickets to The Director's Suite. I had never seen a movie in The Director's Suite before but it was AWESOME!!!! It is a very small theater, I think there are only 30 seats, and those seats both recline AND are heated!!!! Good grief! Why didn't I know this existed before!? While you are reclining in your warm and toasty seat you can also press a button on your arm rest and a waiter comes right to your seat and you can order from a full menu or the snack bar! It was amazing and let me tell you...I stuffed myself! I even had hot apple pie with ice cream on top for dessert!

I couldn't have asked for anymore on my 30th birthday! Any and every adjective you can think to describe it wouldn't even do it justice! Sure, I may feel older but I also feel very loved! Thank you to my friends for celebrating with me and most importantly a HUGE thank you to Jill for putting all THREE of my parties together! You are an amazing friend and I'm lucky to have you in my life! Now bring on 30...even if it requires an earlier bedtime and more fiber...!!!