Thirty Years is a Long Time.

I have just about five hours left of my twenties. I sit here pondering on the things that I have come to understand more fully throughout my living of these significant years. Life is so very surprising in the sense that it is so very predictable and absolutely unpredictable at the same time. I often hear things said over and over and over again and as much as I think I get it, I never fully comprehend those things until I am finally where the people who uttered those words were when they uttered them. I have learned to listen more carefully and to follow advice and instruction more selectively and more purposefully. I have learned to better respect others' efforts, others' choices, and others' feelings. In my twenties, I became a mother, three times over, and I feel as though I finally grew into a woman. The surprised looks on people's faces when I tell them I have children has seized. People aren't shocked when they find out my age much any more. My eyes more frequently have bags under them and I see more evidence of age all over every day. The things that concerned me in the past seem so very trivial compared to the things that concern me now. I understand the wisdom that comes as one gets older. Experiences, trials, mistakes, accomplishments, sickness, health, all bring wisdom, all add onto each other and understanding grows with each. 

I am so grateful for my life. I am so happy to be thirty years old and know the things that I know. I look forward to the future and the gained wisdom and understanding that will be mine with each passing year. I love the things that I have done that define me, I love the home that I have created and the family that lives in it. I love my life. Even the parts that are dark and lonely and bitter. I have greater knowledge because of the opposition that I have encountered.