Happy Birthday to Who?

I got my first birthday wish bright and early this morning at 7:45am from my parents. Can you believe they are up at 5:45am in Phoenix and one of the first things they did was call me to wish me a happy birthday? Even if I was trying to get in a few more minutes of rest before getting out of bed, it was a very welcome call.

I felt so grateful to them for having me in the first place. I didn't realize until I had my own children what a huge sacrifice they are. I always appreciated my parents, but now that I am a mother myself, my appreciation and gratitude for my parents has grown exponentially. They did so much and gave so much to give me and my siblings a very happy life. Maybe we shouldn't celebrate ourselves so much on our birthdays as we should celebrate our mother and father. I guess that's what Mother's Day and Father's Day are for. But still, I just think good parents should be praised every day. So happy birthday to you Mom and Dad.

As for me, I'm 30 today. I'm excited to be 30 and start this new decade of my life. My 20s were good to me. I guess you could say I did most of very exciting parts of my life in my 20s - earned my BA and MA, got married and even had a couple of children. But now I feel like my 30s will be a time to enjoy this little life I've created for myself - to enjoy my husband, our sweet daughters, and any other children we decide to have someday. The volatile and uncertain years of my early adulthood are past, and while certainly there will be bumps along the way, but I have a great deal of stability ahead of me. And to me, that's nice piece of mind. I guess that's why I have been looking forward to this birthday for a while.

As Matt says I'm 30, flirty and thriving. Maybe I'm not so much flirty, except with him, but I do feel like I'm thriving and that is always a good feeling.