I very vividly remember the day that a grandfatherly old man stared over me, his kind smile sharing nuggets of wisdom with the best of intentions. His eyes were wrinkled with years of experience and the subtle kiss of time hadn't missed his cheeks.
"Ah, Thirty! This is the time. This is the age where all things in life start to come together." He spoke assuredly, his eyes almost twinkling as it became evident that memories from his own youth were flooding the forefront of his mind. His confidence never wavered. I was becoming accustomed to receiving various viewpoints of this turning point in life as I myself was nearing my thirtieth birthday. Despite my best efforts to avoid the issue, I found that advice, whether welcome or unwelcome, was coming at me from all directions.
You see, I was like many young twenty something girls. The idea of approaching thirty, or - gasp! - middle age, was met with horrific images of saggy cheeks, crows feet, cellulite, and over-the-hill cardboard signage sitting like a badge of honor on the front lawn. Although aware that I wasn't quite there yet, the idea that it was approaching at a speed far beyond anything I could control was a bit more than my tender twenty-nine years were capable of handling.
Physical aging, however, merely shares space in the mind of the thirty year old woman. What presents as more of a challenge is the frequently asked (and often burdensome) question of, "Is this where I thought I'd be by now?" coupled with, "Is this where I'm supposed to be?" and closely followed by, "Where the heck am I going and how am I going to get there?" So I ask you now to join me on the wild ride referred to as 'the thirty chronicles'. Perhaps I'm alone in my experience, but something tells me I'm not.
I won't soon forget the elderly gentleman trying to comfort me with his casual remarks on these highly esteemed 'thirty' years. For my sake, I hope he's right. Ready or not, however, here they are. While advice, both solicited and unsolicited, continues to bombard my mental door, how I choose to spend these 'thirties' depends solely on me.
