Thirty One!

Today I turn 31 years old, which to put into writing is pretty crazy.  Even though I have a successful career, a home, a husband, and a BABY, I certainly do not feel 31.  I am not exactly certain what 31 is supposed to feel like (or if it's supposed to feel like anything at all), but today I feel like a 31 year old faking it! 

Sometimes when I think of my job which I love, I think "Who did I trick to land this gig?" 

And sometimes when I look at Marty I think "How did I get so lucky to have this guy as my husband?"  This is proven by the fact that during my pregnancy I awoke from a deep slumber to roll over and ask Marty "ARE YOU EVER GOING TO PROPOSE TO ME!?!"  Ha! 

And I often still stare in total disbelief at Henry and think "Wow, this is really MY baby." 

And while I may be a great big 31 year old fake (because on the inside, I am still 21), here is what I have learned:

1. Birthdays take on a whole new meaning once you have actually given birth
2. Work harder than you are paid as an investment in your future.  Especially in your 20s! You'll thank yourself when you are 30 (and hopefully again when you are 40, retired, and sipping Dom on your yacht)
3. The ability to accomplish #2 (14-16 hour work days) and then pop bottles at Uropa until 2 AM will totally dissipate the day you turn 30.  So work hard and be wild.  While you can.
4. Life is too short to drink bad wine
5. Becoming a mother is the best birthday gift ever.  Really. I can't say it often enough...I entirely underestimated how much I would love this little guy.  And speaking of mothers, your parents are kind of cool and may actually know a thing or two
6. Don't ever regret an expensive shoe, purse, or watch purchase.  I haven't.  You deserve it!  Just make sure they are classics!
7. Rejection isn't bad. It's a sorting device keeping unhealthy matches (in love, work, and life in general) away from you (I stole this one, but it's a gem)
8. Travel, travel, travel.  You'll make memories that last a lifetime.  And someday your exotic adventures will shift from wine tasting in Tuscany to eating crappy pizza in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot (I'm not there yet, but it's imminent and I am in denial)
9. When you consider having a baby, you weigh the sacrafices you will have to make.  And once you take a single look at that baby, those "sacrafices" no longer seem like sacrafices at all.  Even during those first few days at 4AM when you are thinking to yourself "can we really do this?"
10. Botox is your friend
11. Speaking of friendships:  Nurture the ones that matter and banish the ones that don't