Being 33…

I turned 34 a couple of weeks ago.  Please don’t wish me a happy birthday, because it was one of the worst days of my life.  I am not going into too many details today, but it is the reason why I haven’t been able to write.  I am blocked because life has thrown us a curve or two. We will get on the other side of this, but currently, pieces of life feel really hard.

I meant to write a post about my life as a 33-year-old, before my birthday.  I used to hate getting older, one year closer to being old.  My 34th birthday taught me that each year is an accomplishment, and every year should be celebrated.  We are never too young to learn that lesson.

Anyway, here is my reflection of being 33…

On my 32nd birthday, I started a photography project on 365project.org.  I took a picture everyday that whole year.  Later, I made it into a book and I have a wonderful visual diary of that boring, nothing special year.  However life felt at that moment, I have a memory from every single day.

I meant to keep it up at 33, but I didn’t.  However, 33 years old was mostly a wonderful, eventful year full of travel and new experiences.

At 33, I:

showed our kids the Rocky Mountains with a spur of the moment, weekend drive to Denver.

found the adventurous, young self, that I buried when I became a mom.

applied for jobs.

started a blog and rediscovered my love of writing.

upgraded camera lens’.

started second shooting weddings.

went on my honeymoon, ten years later, with the love of my life.

started subbing.

returned to Maine and showed my son Fenway Park.

started graduate school.

took my son to his first Husker game.

told our children about autism and what it means for our family.

expanded my photography business and skills.

taught my son how to ride his bike on two wheels.

sent my daughter to kindergarten.

drove thousands of miles, and saw many new things along the way.

made many new friends.

started volunteering with my kids.

watched many sporting events and cheered on my kids.

lost 50 pounds and gave up gluten.

taught media classes.

found out my husband has Cancer.  (The reason why my birthday was terrible)

In this moment, I don’t know being 34 will look like.  I did get my dream teaching job a couple of weeks ago, so I know this year won’t be all bad.  I have hope for our future as a family and know that God is with us.

I pray that being 34 will teach me to love getting older and appreciate my 3 loves who make my life worth living each and every day.