Yes, we are playing Pyramid and hopefully, this game isn’t
as tough for you as it is for Joey Tribbiani.
For this one, the answer is the number 31.
Tomorrow is my 31st birthday (or
today is my 31st birthday eve or today is the day that I celebrate 30 and 364
days). Nominally, tomorrow is not as
momentous a day as it was last year.
There is no decade coming to an end, no new over the hill jokes coming
my way, and there are no wistful country songs written about turning 31. All that being said, tomorrow marks the
beginning of a new year, a new age.
Today, I am valuing the close of 30 and anticipating the beginning of
31. Any of you who have persevered
through my wonderments can’t possibly be surprised that nostalgia in all its
glory is rampant tonight. Sammy Hagar
put it surprisingly well when he said, “Every year on your birthday, you get a
chance to start new.”
On paper,
this may not be a monumental birthday, but in reality and in possibly the
understatement of the decade, it has been no less than a monumental year. The first half of my 30th year was
event heavy, but those particular events were enough to last me the whole year
and then some. During one third of the
past year, I became a mother, moved unexpectedly and started a new job. It was an overwhelming whirlwind of a
trifecta.
The events
of my 30th year have undeniably and irrevocably affected who I am at
30 years and 364 days old. While events
in our lives do most definitely shape who we are, I have repeatedly discovered
this year that I am not defined by any one of the hats that I wear. Right now, I am at a point in my life where I
juggle quite a few parts of my life.
Often, they don’t overlap, but that isn’t always the case. I am many things and all of it somehow adds
up to be just Katy. I don’t feel like adding
sides to myself takes away from others…that in and of itself may be a rant for
another day…
While I
love the beginning and ending signified by birthdays, one of the reasons I am
enjoying getting older is that age doesn’t mean that I lose anything. Katy at nearly
31 has built on Katy at 23 and at 16 and at 9; I haven’t lost the girl I was at
any of those times.
“The great
thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve
been.” – Madeleine L’Engle
Anyway…I
hope you’ve all had a wonderful my-birthday-month so far, a terrific
my-birthday-week and now, happy my-birthday-eve to all of you!
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