A lot of people hate turning 30 because they feel bad about all of the things they should have accomplished by then, but haven’t even come close. In my naïve younger years, I thought by thirty I’d be making a gazillion dollars, driving some kick-ass car, married with three kids, two dogs and own an impressive wine collection. Now that my time has come, I must confess that I haven’t accomplished one of those things, nor do I necessarily want to. Well, maybe I’d like to have the wine collection.
The fact that I hit The Big 3-0 right before Kelly and I leave is no coincidence…I chose this landmark year for many reasons. First, one of the key steps in planning long-term travel is to set a departure date and stick to it. When I began planning, I told myself I would leave within 6 months of my 30th birthday. This also gave me a reasonable amount of time to save a ton of cash. But most importantly, as I came into my mid-twenties, my goals and priorities changed…I wanted something different than a nice car, high-paying job, and 3-bedroom house. I wanted to have adventure, to meet new people, travel, and experience something that few others I know have experienced. Those other ‘things’ would have to wait.
Am I disappointed that I have no ‘grown-up’ possessions to my name? Hell no! On my 30th birthday, I can proudly say that I am accomplishing my goals and achieving everything that I have set out to do…it may just be different from what everyone else I know is doing! I am exactly where I want to be and couldn’t be happier about my life.
In addition to the commencement of our round-the-world trip, here are a few other reasons I am thrilled to be thirty:
– My friends can’t tease me anymore for going home at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night…I’m old, I need my sleep!
– I read that a woman’s sex drive peaks during her 30’s. Nice.
– If I ever date a younger man, I will be referred to as a ‘Cougar’. Reason #2 above will come in handy if this is ever the case.
– Like my Dad once told me, I’m young enough to have fun and old enough to afford it.
Ha!……”sweet cheerleader moves”. Kelly did tell me that I had nice form. Thanks again for another amazing weekend at Morgan’s El rancho. Canoe trip was awesome!