Happy Birthday to Me

Posted on the 07 May 2014 by Karaevs @KaraEvs

So, today is my birthday. Most bloggers would take the time to write a post reflecting on the past year and what it means to be whatever age they are now. I have a hard time writing reflective posts, but I’m going to give it a go and see what happens.

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28. That’s how old young I am today. Just one year away from being 29 – that eternal age that every woman claims to be once they are over-the-hill. Sometimes I forget that I’m closer to the age of 30 than I am to 20. I definitely have learned a lot over the past year, even though it seems to have flown by. (By the way – why does that happen as you get older – how time just seems to speed right up? Anyway… )

What does it mean to be 28? I mean, really? You can’t really identify with the early-20′s kids – the ones who are just graduating from university all bright-eyed and full of ambition, but you don’t want to lump yourself with the folks in the 30+ class just yet because you are indeed still figuring life out. (Not that all 30-somethings have their shit together.) I know that at 28, I’m still figuring out my career. (I talked about it in this post.) I feel like I could do 100 different jobs and still not find the “perfect” one, but sometimes, life isn’t about finding that quintessential dream job. I was employed by my dream employer at one point, but that sadly ended. Cue me regrouping and getting new training with a fresh set of skills. Are these going to lead me to the perfect job, dream-wise? Well, probably not, but it will very likely lead to the perfect job to help support my family – and sometimes that’s all that matters.

So what exactly have I learned in the past year? Well, I’ve learned that I’m pretty good at being a mom, which is one bright-side to job deterioration. I don’t know what kind of parent I’d classify myself as, but Isla is getting smarter every day and I love being able to watch her learn and grow.

I’m still learning that being an adult sucks. There’s bills and mortgages to be paid, and believe it or not, money doesn’t grow on trees. You’re forced to face the truth of situations and you really have to assess situations and figure out the best course of action. It’s tough and hard and most days I hate having to make decisions and would rather not do it, but I’m a grown-up with responsibilities not only to myself but to my husband and daughter too.

I’m content on where I am at 28. I don’t feel as though I’ve missed out on anything and am happy with every choice I’ve made to get to where I am today. I’m not really one to make a statement saying where I want to be at a certain age, other than happy and healthy. Cheesy, yes, but who wouldn’t want that?

Regardless of all this jibber jabber, I’m more than certain that I’m ready for whatever the next 365 days wants to bring my way, good, bad or otherwise. For today, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy turning a year older :)