You Know You’re In Your 30s When…

Another year, another birthday. I keep singing the song, “Today is your birthday…da na na na nah!” You know, from the 80’s cult classic, Sixteen Candles. (I do every year, for the record.) And just like  that, I am now a whole 34 years old. I’d like to think that I haven’t even lived half a life span, so we are doing some celebrating today. With each year that passes, I feel like I come a little more into my own. I breathe a little deeper and live a little lighter. Last year on my birthday, I wrote “33 Things I Know at 33,” and while those are all still true, there are some more things that I’ve come to know and appreciate about life in my 30s. I’m sure this list will only continue to grow in the next six years, too. If you’re a mom, a wife, and you’re in your 30s, you might find that these things are all too familiar for you. And if you’re not, you can laugh right along with me. Laughter is always good for the soul. 

YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN YOUR 30S WHEN…
1. you buy the clean version of a song in hopes of listening to it when your child is in the car. Poof be gone, Disney songs!
2. the phrase, “go big or go home,” makes you you want to run for the hills all the way home. Home is where it’s at.
3. your shoes are much more comfortable with shoe inserts. Thanks, Dr. Scholl’s!
4. acne returns to your life. The horror!
5. wrinkles and crows’ feet have now taken up residence on your face. (I knew I should have moisturized in my 20s!)
6. retirement feels like a lifetime away because it really is, a whopping 30 years away.
7. you care about the quality of alcohol, not the quantity. No thank you, bad hangover.
8. medical insurance, home taxes, and life insurance take up more than your “fun money” allowance in your budget.
9. you actually have a budget.
10. it takes you a month to lose five pounds but all but three seconds to gain it.
11. loud restaurants are just too loud. Can we go somewhere where we can have a conversation?
12. your living room tells a story about your stage of life. You mean, Fisher Price isn’t considered home decor?
13. knee pain and back pain are real.
14. smokey bars are a thing of the past.
15. you research vacations before you go on them.
16. vacations are a necessity.
17. you buy the expensive gifts on gift registries. And it feels really good to do so.
18. 75% of your date nights consist of pajamas, the couch, and streaming movies.
19. clothing stores that play loud music only mean one thing: those clothes won’t fit my womanly curves correctly.
20. you dress for functionality, not so much trendy. Can we just define that style as “classic?”
21. you own a Mary Poppins purse and have it locked and loaded.
22. you have Advil and anti-acid at the ready.
23. you start taking multi-vitamins again.
24. you hear a song from your youth, and it’s considered retro or classic. Nirvana is classic rock? Really? Whatever works.
25. going out with friends means going out at 7 p.m., not 11 p.m. And even 7 p.m. is pushing it.
26. sleeping in means sleeping until 7:30 a.m.
27. coffee isn’t for the cool kids anymore, it’s a necessity.
28. you fail to learn the correct protocol on the latest social media apps. Who knew that narrating your Snapchat isn’t how it’s supposed to be done? Oh, well. We make our own rules.
29. your new mantra is “Gray hair, don’t care.”
30. you have truly come to realize that these are the best years of your life and would gladly wear a t-shirt that says, “I survived my 20s.” 

I think your 20s are definitely filled with some major life lessons, and your 30s are for going with the flow. However, I had this preconceived notion that once I said sayonara to my twenties that my 30s would be a breeze. What a silly thing to think! I’ve still had plenty of life lessons in the last four years  of my life, and I’m sure I’ll continue to learn something new every day. I’ve seen my fair share of heartache and disappointment and made plenty of mistakes, but the only difference now is that I learn the lesson and move on. In my 20s, I agonized over things. If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that life goes on, and I’m going to be dang sure I enjoy the journey, gray-haired and all. Here’s to at least another thirty-something years of awesomeness.