Good bye 30, Hello 31!

A year ago at this time, I was an emotional mess. I did NOT want to turn 30. I hated to see the 20's go and even think about the 30's. I think it was a fear of "being older" than anything else. At the time, I felt like once I turned 30, I was immediately going to be 40. I remember looking back and thinking how fast the 20's went and how happy they had been. How could it get any better?
So here I am a year later to say it really wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty great! I feel like I am a more confident person than I used to be and honestly, I've learned that people really look at your opinion and respect it much more (in most instances).
So here's what I've learned over the course of the last year....

1. It doesn't matter how much or how little money you have in your bank account, if you have a strong marriage and you love and respect each other, the way God intended, you can survive and get through anything.

2. If you are an animal lover, you can become attached to other people's pets and your heart can break and you can mourn with others when they lose a beloved pet, almost as if it was your own. This summer, I had a family I clean for whose dog passed away. Max was the highlight of my cleaning days there. A beautiful Golden Retriever, he followed me all over the house and we had conversation all the time. He was the kind of friend I could trust to NEVER tell anyone anything. :) I not only mourned his passing but my heart broke for that family as I knew the loss they had suffered after only being with that dog twice a month for the last year. If you don't have pets, you can't understand this but it is just like you've lost a family member.

3. My days don't always have to go the way I planned them and I will survive. Since we started noticing changes in Carson, there have been many days that I have called Brad ranting or sometimes even crying and he always had a way to talk me through it and calm me down to put things in perspective.

4. I've known this one for a long time but it's worth repeating...even though God knows the desires of your heart and he knows what you need, he still wants to hear from you and if you talk to him, he will listen and he will bless you. It might not be on your time but it will be on His time! The Prayer of Jabez is one of my favorites!

Tomorrow is my birthday. I plan to spend the day with mom, Gabby and Jen shopping at the outlet malls in Fremont. I looked at Brad tonight and said, "Well, tomorrow's my birthday and I'm not crying about it this year." He agreed and let me know how that got to be a little depressing for everyone last year (joking) but it's true. I look forward to this weekend and this new year! I know there are great things in store!