The Big 3-0

I'm turning 30 tomorrow, people. THIRTY. Which is fine. I'm fine with it, really. Don't I seem fine? I seem fine because I am fine.

Just fine. Absoluuuutely fine.

As long as I can remember, I thought my 30s would be my prime. I still think it, actually. I mean, I did the things you were supposed to do in your 20s (or at least the things I think you're supposed to do in your 20s). I've traveled a lot. I'm officially over educated (but don't think that will stop me from becoming overly-over-educated). I've had great friendships, great relationships, great break ups. I've worn some short skirts. I've been in a lot of plays, gone out dancing, swam in "Snake Lake," which is not named for what it lacks.

I don't feel like I shouldn't be 30. I don't feel like I'm younger. I don't think "Where has my youth gone?!" I know where it went. I was there. It was fun. And sometimes it was awful. That's the way things are.

I actually felt older at 27. I was finishing up grad school, going through a terrible break up, and I was at a point where my age could be ROUNDED UP to 30. That was horrifying at the time. I wasn't ready for 30 yet.

Now, I am accepting 30 because what else is there to do?

A friend of mine once said that when you're in your 20s, things can be excused. You kissed a ridiculous person? Well, you're young. You over drafted your bank account? Ah well, lesson learned. You fell down in the street at the Cat Square Christmas Parade and/or danced provocatively to "Brick House" in the middle of a small town's downtown? You're in your 20s, man! That's what you're supposed to do!

But you know what? Being in your 30s doesn't mean you have to be a lame-o. It doesn't mean you have to stop dancing to terribly terrific songs. (Lady Gaga: I just want to take this moment to thank you for "Born This Way.") Age is just a number. It's a number that tells how many years you've been around not how mature you are or how boring or super-fantastic or anything else.

I talked to a woman this week who told me her son calls her "borderline insane," but I think she's one of the sanest people I've ever met. She's realized it's stupid to worry about what other people think. It's boring being inhibited. It's wonderful to live just the way you want to.

"So many people are afraid to act silly," she told me. "They’re sophisticated, and that’s really dull."

Being lame is what makes you lame. Getting older just makes you older. Did the fates send me her way or her my way this week because I'm turning the big 3-0? Perhaps. No matter what, I'm grateful for this energetic 79-year-old woman's words of wisdom (and seriously, she didn't look a day over 58).

"I’m having a really good time being old," she said. "If you were a dud at 35, you’re going to be a dud at 85. But if you’re cool, you’re going to be okay."

I think I'm going to be okay.