By 30, You Should

Mid twenties and I have many lists of goals to accomplish by thirty. There is one list that always stands out with personality. Ripped from the pages of Glamour magazine and color photo copied, framed, tucked away in the corner of my room. Found by a friend, ripped by a friend, framed by a friend and gifted by a friend - yet it is this list, my adopted list, that stands out among the many, many lists I have. A cartoon image of a fabulous woman in stilettos and a peacock feathered skirt, carefully holding a martini glass, sits fashionably on her very own modern, pink chair. It exudes glamour and sophistication. In my over-sized, gray, AmeriCorps sweatshirt and LLBean slippers, I do not. But this list has become one image for the future and at the very least, something to think about...

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to, and one who reminds you how far you've come.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dream wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you're not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you're content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough to look forward to telling in your old age.
7. The realization that you are actually going to make it have an old age - and some money set aside to fund it.
8. An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account - all of which nobody has access to but you.
9. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded.
10. One friend who always make you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don't get better after 30.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the relationship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn't like to happen next.
6. The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don't like to.
8. How to take control of your own birthday.
9. That you can't change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it's over.
11. What you would and would not do for money or love.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can't and why you should not take it personally.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn't your fault.
15. Why they say that life begins at 30.

[Glamour Magazine, September 2005, p379]

Snow Days

I love that I still get snow days. At the age of twenty-five, I still get to turn off the alarm, flip on the television, identify my school as closed, squeal with delight, and burrow back into the covers. For me, snow days still mean a postponed homework assignment, a break from lugging my l.l.bean backpack up and down the school stairs, hot chocolate at home, and at least the potential of daytime television.

Of course, there are some differences. The aroma of my mom cooking pancakes and bacon doesn't creep into my room and coax me awake. My l.l.bean backpack sitting by the door is not the traditional bookbag type. I now carry the "day hiker" with me, complete with its own hydration system. It is laughable, I know, but apparently code books are even heavier than grade school science books - who knew?! And although I always think about it, I have not yet gone sledding in my backyard during my "adult" snow days. This is probably due largely to the fact that I don't have a backyard, or that I have to dig my car out from under a foot of snow and drive the unplowed roads to the local sledding hill.

My snow days are now filled mostly with catching up on never-ending homework assignments, case reading, and cleaning, but I can't complain. I still get to ignore my alarm, spend some time on the phone with a friend, and sit in the cozy warmth watching the snow fall outside the window.

New Year of Last Year

Champagne glass full of bubbles from last week's new year, a pair of orange tinted nerf glasses, a boa from halloween... I bounce around the kitchen while she perfectly places the lasagna strips over smears of ricotta cheese. Slippery socks on the smooth kitchen floor, the champagne ignites a twist and a twirl and a dip and drop, bounce, bounce, twist, twirl, twirl. Guitar picks aimlessly at the strum string as I tip the champagne to my mouth. A moment of silence, held, held, held, until a unified explosion of guitar cords, beat, pop, rock, lyrics emerge from the basement. My bounce, twist, twirl, dip now have a beat, a rhythm, a pattern and a head full of champagne bubbles. Lasagna baking the oven, music below my feet, the new year starts on an upbeat with an orange tint and a feathered boa.

January 15th, and I can't wait to see how 2009 finally begins...

Two-Thousand Nine Begins...

I usually make my new year resolutions in March. It works so much better for my inner calendar. While the rest of the world contemplates the best steps for self-improvement on January 1, I spend most of my January on a nice break from reality. I eat home-cooked meals made by somebody other than myself (usually a two-step improvement from my daily diet); sleep at least two, if not three, times more than usual; watch more television than the rest of the year combined (usually in the form of marathons); and spend time with friends and family that too often wonder whether or not I have lost their phone number. Expending energy on anything other than eating, sleeping, visiting, and watching mindless television just doesn't happen. When March rolls around I'm finally in a place to make resolutions, and expend the energy necessary to attempt holding on to them for the certain whirlwind of the next ten months.

This year I have decided to come out from under the pile of Christmas cookies and turn off the John and Kate Plus 8 marathon long enough to make some resolutions. "Renew some resolutions" is perhaps a more appropriate phrase to use. I did not do such a fantastic job of meeting any of the resolutions I made last year - although I'm not particularly worried about it; I met many more important personal goals in the past year. As a product of getting older (I think), my internal calendar has started to work on January to December framework rather than a September to August framework, despite my never-ending full-time student status. It finally feels natural to make resolutions on January first. So, without further ado, my new year resolutions:


Resolution #1: Write in the blog I created years ago. At the rate I am going, I will be thirty-something before I have two consecutive posts within six months of each other. Must write more in the new year.

Resolution #2: Take more photos. My favorite photos taken by others are of simple, everyday life. I don't have (or want) a lot of glamour in my life, so I shouldn't wait for it to appear before pulling out my camera.

Resolution #3: Invest in healthy habits. Oh you know, the usual, eat better, exercise more, stop drinking so much coffee. I can't even type that last statement with a straight face. With the help of a close friend, my infatuation with coffee has become a sincere love affair that I'm not willing to part with anytime in the near future. I will have to stick with eating better and exercising more - I have high hopes for these!


We'll start with those, and perhaps re-visit them in March... Happy New Year to you and yours!