Livin' and Lovin' in A-town

October is Here

Today is an absolutely wonderful day! It is 51 degrees outside, cloudy, rainy and I’m loving it! Fall is finally here, although today feels like winter. I love October! It’s a month of change for me. The weather begins to shift, trees start to loose their leaves, the holiday season kicks off, and I turn one year older. Unlike many of my friends, I love my birthday. My birthday is MY day, and I love it! I love it almost as much as Christmas!

Now, when I said “unlike many of my friends” I mean my friends in Abilene. I make this distinction because all of my close friends in Abilene are 30 or older. We’ve all seen it in our lives…as people around us get older, they begin to dread their birthdays. 30 is old to them…40 is over the hill…50, you’re half way to 100…60, you’re close to a senior citizens discount…70, Medicare is in full swing…80, the nursing homes are knocking at your door…90, well, you’re just lucky to be here. That’s how many people view age these days.

I’ve thought a lot about age lately. One of my friends turned 30 last month, and I think…that’s just 6 years away for me. Where will I be at 30? One of my friends will turn 31 on Saturday. She doesn’t even want to have her birthday…she just wants to skip this one, and the next, and the one after that and be 30 forever. 30 used to seem old to me…but now that I’m six years away, it doesn’t seem that old anymore. Just think…where was I six years ago? It seems like yesterday.

I often get in a hurry to grow up. People try so hard to grow up so fast, and then spend the later part of their life wishing they were younger. I get told all the time to just enjoy my twenties. Enjoy being 23, 24, 25…single, free, hardly any responsibility. How am I supposed to do that when all of my friends are in their thirties and married? They can’t enjoy their twenties with me!

I’m not writing this entry to complain about my age, or the age of my friends, or where I am in my life right now. I truly feel that I am where God wants me to be, and I know that He constantly works in my life. I guess I just wonder, as I stare 24 in the face, where I will be at 30. Will I care that I’m 30? Will I want to stay 30 forever? Will age affect me as it does my friends? I guess I’ll know in a few years. Right now, I’ll just enjoy being 24 and enjoy the rest of October. It’s a cold, crisp day outside…I couldn’t ask for anything better!