Today is my birthday. I’m now 33, which is not a big milestone by any means. It actually takes me a beat lately to remember my age. But, nonetheless, it feels like I’m entering that interesting age range titled “mid-thirties.” On one hand, I welcome my new sophisticated age category with pride! On the other hand, I’m cringing because somehow “mid-thirties” sounds much older than “thirty.” These high and low conflicting feelings go along well with #momlife right now.
Need more examples?
High:
Getting carded. Because – heck yeah! I look so young! Woooo!
Low:
Getting carded. I don’t want to look like I’m 19 years old. As the comedian Jen Kirkman says “I don’t want to look like I have four roommates and sh*tty towels.”
High:
I no longer feel guilty about spending money on treating myself to something.
Low:
I now feel guilty about… everything else. Literally… everything else.
High:
I now have enough money that I can go out to eat at an actual restaurant!!
Low:
My Yelp search has diverged from “trendy foodie finds” to “family-friendly” restaurants that serve dinner at 5pm and offer free kids meals (because they won’t eat it anyway).
High:
My Google search history no longer includes questions like “Marcus Theatre movie schedule,” “best curly hair products” and “When is shark week?”
Lows:
My Google search history includes “How to tell if your toddler has a concussion,” “natural laxatives,” “spaghetti squash recipes” and “TSA guidelines for breast milk.”
High:
I am far enough removed from high school that I no longer care what high school classmates think of me, and I have wise advice for current high schoolers.
Low:
I just realized my toddlers are closer to high school age than I am…
High:
I can totally pull off a mom bun.
Low:
I never have time to do more with my hair than a mom bun.
High:
I’m officially old enough to swear in front of my parents without thinking twice.
Low:
My toddler just repeated a swear word in front of my in-laws. Whoops.
High:
One of my 4-year-olds just guessed my age to be 7.
Low:
My other 4-year-old guessed 46.
High:
My kids go to bed by about 8pm every night, leaving the rest of the night to my husband and I! Some nights we open a bottle of wine and relax on the deck!
Low:
No less than 5 nights per week, once the kids are in bed my husband and I do sexy activities like making peanut-free lunches (harder than you think), folding laundry (So. Much. Laundry.), and watching Netflix re-runs before diving into bed as early as we possibly can.
Overall, I’m choosing to welcome my “mid-thirties” with open arms, because even with highs and lows – this is a truly awesome time in my life. My perfect birthday plans are not what they used to be, but I’m 100% okay with that. This morning my kids sang to me (adorable)! Then I treated myself to a latte. Other plans include having an early dinner at our favorite “family-friendly” Mexican restaurant, actually doing my hair (which I will regret later when it’s laying in bean dip) and cheering loudly for the Packers from the comfort of my own couch (on which I will fall asleep around half time).
And, I wouldn’t have it any other way.