Reflection and Moving Forward: Love For 30 Project

Reflection can be a peculiar thing.  It can either cause you to smile or maybe grimace a little about the past.  I think that is one of the things I have accomplished with my thirty’s   I have learned not to worry about the past as much…at least not the mistakes I’ve made.  It’s through those mistakes that I have learned some of my greatest lessons.  So here I am reflecting about a decade that I have completed the first half and am now venturing through the second half.

My twenties I would say was the decade of change.  I was married, had children, moved to a different state and watched (proudly) my husband graduate with his masters.  A few weeks before my husband and I were married my father in law passed away from a long fight with Leukemia. When I was 26 and my second child was only 5 months of age when my father lost his very long battle with Cancer.  Letting go of parents at a young age was a difficult yet I count myself very blessed to have my husband by my side during all of it.   I became more determined to find my birth mother and met my four younger sisters. I was adopted as a baby and growing up in a family who all look so much alike it always left me wondering if there was anyone who I looked like.  I found a part of who I was that seemed to be hiding right in front of me.  There was so much change and new things I hardly had time to breathe.

Thirties, while I am only on year 36, I would say has been a great decade.  I am comfortable in my own skin.  I have learned to laugh at life more and not take things to seriously. I’ve settled into that phase of motherhood where my children are no longer “little”.  No diapers or safety plug in the outlets no going to the grocery store and sticking so many children in my cart I hardly had room for my groceries.  I’ve battled through health problems for myself as well as for my children and have come out even stronger.  My husband and I have a strong marriage and a deep love for each other.  We have been a support team for each other and are able to let loose and have fun.  He is my high school sweet heart and my forever love and I can’t imagine getting to where I am without him.

With all of that being said I look in the mirror and don’t see an older me.  Honestly I feel the same as the day I married my honey almost 16 years ago.  I’m the same person with a few more wrinkles and gray hairs…yet I will never show anyone where they hide.  I mark time more with events then dates and am able to laugh when things go wrong…and sometimes they go terribly wrong.  I’m no longer worried about growing older as I am with having fun along the way.  I have come to the point where I do not allow others to define who I am and decide who I want to be.  I heard one person say that 30 is the new 20 and I thought to myself “I hope not”. I don’t want to move backwards I want to go forward.

I started blogging in 2012 and I never imagined that writing about my life, my thoughts and just everyday things would change me so much.  I have become much more confident in me.  I have met other women who made me realize that I am not alone or as strange as I first thought.  I never imagined I would be able to make such good friends that I have never met face to face. I just celebrated my birthday in January and am looking forward to what this new year is going to bring.  The changes that will take place, the memories that we will create along the way.  I only have 3 years left of being “30” who knows what’s ahead of me.

BIO
Laura blogs over at Mice In The Kitchen where she talks about life, being a mom and laugh at the crazy things that go wrong.  If you are looking for a laugh or some crazy insight into life as a stay at home mom she would love for you to stop by and look around and even follow along if you like what you read.