A very merry unbirthday...

Today I am wishing myself a happy half birthday- it is officially 6 months until I turn 30! My best friend Stacey (whose birthday is two days before mine) and I celebrated this weekend with a perfectly appropriate half a pie!

Key lime! Yum!

I can't say the thought of 30 doesn't throw me off every once in a while. I was at the oh-so-fun girlie doctor recently who informed that when I turn 30 I'll only have to have Paps done once every 3 years. I momentarily thought to myself that that will be nice in a few years before she said, "so next year will be your last one for 3 years" and I nearly choked realizing that 30 isn't a few years away, it's only a few months!

I also had someone tell me about a candidate she was recommending to be hired in our office. She said, "oh, she's really young, like 29 or 30" and I briefly thought that wasn't all that young (yes, it IS young, I thoroughly believe that, but in the world of teaching it isn't as much). Then again it hit me, I'M 29, and it is VERY young!

Somewhere in my head I apparently have myself convinced that I'm 25 or 26.

In any case, in the moments that I begin to dread and fear this next decade, I quickly realize just how blessed I am to have each and every day that I do. I worked with a lady who told me how every year she is so happy on her birthday and she says, "Yes! Thank you God for another year! I am so happy to be 52!" (and illustrated with a cute little happy dance). It struck me as odd, then I thought, what an amazing perspective to have on life! Instead of counting down the days until you die, why not count up the days you've been blessed with?

And, though I hate to go here, to be completely honest I truly am blessed to have these days. When I was born the median life expectancy for someone with cystic fibrosis was somewhere in the teens. The current predicted age of survival is in the mid-30s, a number that may seem daunting, but to which I've paid very little attention (I had to look it up right now). To me, the numbers mean very little; they are not a death sentence nor a goal, just a sign of where research has brought us today, and a reminder of the amazing things that have happened in my lifetime.

So, instead of my phrasing on my Facebook, I am not on a downhill slope towards 30, I am on an uphill climb to bigger and better things. Thank you, God. I am so happy to be 29.5!