North Jefferson News, Gardendale, AL

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July 23, 2010

Milestone birthday caught me off guard

By Danielle Pelkey The North Jefferson News

NORTH JEFFERSON — Have you ever met someone who loves their birthday? I mean, really wants everyone to be involved in their special day and is so excited when the time comes for their birthday that they can’t even contain themselves? I do. I have a friend who proclaims the whole week of her birthday to be her days.

I’m no place near that point, but for once in my life, the thought of my birthday puts knots in my stomach and not in a good way. In four days I will be ripped, harshly, out of my 20s and thrown, violently, into my 30s.

This is not a transition that I asked for. This year just crept up on me and bit me in the tail.

It’s so nice to be in your 20s. Everyone wants to be in their 20s. But man, what do you do when you’re going into your 30s? I can remember when my mom turned 30. I was really young, but I can still remember thinking that she wouldn’t last much longer. Wow, 30 was like dropping off the ends of the earth. Thirty was old.

But here I stand, at the brink of 30 and I’m thinking, “I’m not old. I have a lot of living left to do.”

My kids are too young to remember their dear, old, sainted mother turning 30... and for that I’m glad. Maybe they won’t have a nervous breakdown when this day comes for them.

In an effort to look and stay young, I bought some blue hair dye the other day. Yes, I wanted to put blue streaks in my hair... as if it would fool people as to how old I really am.

I guess even my hair is old and stuck in its ways because it wouldn’t even dye a different color for me. I know it’s sad. In a last-ditch effort to keep my youth, I turned to the bottle. Not alcohol, but dye. And it didn’t even work.

I was going to say that 30 is the new 20, but I want to save that line for when I turn 40, so maybe 30 isn’t so old.

As I look back over the past 30 years, I see that my life so far has been a wonderful life.

There have been hard and horrible times, but the bulk of my memories are golden. They are wonderful. I am a truly blessed individual.

As I write this column, I see that I am employed by a wonderful newspaper and have a job that I love. My family has grown and now I am a mother of two wonderful little girls who make my world go around. My husband and I are grounded in a great church and we have a good direction for our lives right now. And I guess what I am trying to say is that I’m satisfied. Satisfied with the last 30 years of my life.

Granted, up until about a month ago, I thought I was only 28; but it is working out wonderfully.

I can’t wait to see what the next 30 years hold. Life is such an adventure.

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