30-Something and Lovin' It!

A friend of mine just turned 30 this past Saturday and she wasn't exactly excited. So...this is for all my young friends out there turning 30 and dreading it. Girls, I don't get it. I was standing in line at my favorite store, Walmart, and saw a young actress on the front of a magazine and the headline was "When I turned 25 I had a quarterlife crisis." Huh? Is 25 considered old now? I looked forward to turning 30. Am I the only one? I was so foolish in my 20's that I saw 30 as a brand new start. I felt like I was finally a woman and not a girl. I felt mature for the first time. I felt like I finally knew something about life and the world we live in. Here are just a few things I've learned since turning 30.

1. People take me more seriously now that I'm 30.

2. I have been through enough to find out who my real friends are and now I can be pretty sure my friends are for life.

3. I have finished the "trial and error" twenties and now I know more about what I want and how to get it. I'm still dreaming but now I'm also doing.

4. I have experienced enough loss and heartache to appreciate life more and not take so much for granted.

5. I'm still cool but I no longer care whether or not other people think I am cool. :) And I'm still young but not near as stupid as I was.

6. I'm more certain of myself and less certain of myself. I'm more confident in some areas and some things I spoke so confidently of in my 20's I have since been humbled about which has been a good thing.

7. One of my mentors once told me that the longer you live, the more you trust God because you've seen him come through again and again and again. I think this is probably true. It seems to be so in their lives. Think about those older women you respect and admire. Is this true of them?

8. In Jewish writings, 30 is considered to be the age "worthy of leadership". The bible tells us specifically that Joseph was 30 years old when he entered Pharaoh's service and it is estimated that Jesus himself started his ministry at age 30. I figure if it's the best age for Jesus, maybe it's the best age, period. My older friend Nancy has a theory that we are all 30 in heaven because she says it is the perfect age.

Anyway ladies...I have to say that I didn't have children when I was 30 so maybe it was different. I did celebrate in style though. My wonderful husband arranged for some of my friends to surprise me. We rode around Nashville in a limo, visited some hot spots, I rode on the back of a Harley with a stranger, and I wore a tiara and a big pink boa the entire night. We spent the night in a hotel suite where my husband had 30 roses waiting.

It was a blast so I recommend fully embracing your 30's. I plan to for the 2 1/2 years I have left before 40. I'll have to get back to you on that one. I plan to celebrate even bigger for SURE! Any word on turning 40 from some of my more experienced friends out there?

Finally I'll leave you with this funny quote I found.

Turning 30 by Andy Rooney
This is a partial excerpt written by Andy Rooney from CBS 60 Minutes

Andy Rooney says: As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?". She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.

Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

So let' hear it from my 30+ friends out there! What have you learned?