You’re all aware of my fascination with Facebook.  Love it, love it, love it!  It’s a lot of fun to see what people from high school and college are doing these days.  People live in exciting places, have had kids, have cool jobs…whatever.  Even if people are still doing what they were doing when we graduated, it’s fun to see them.

But the other day I added a friend from high school who looked awful.  (If you’re a friend from high school reading this now, don’t worry…it’s not you.  This person would probably never read my blog, at least I know that she’s never commented on here.)  She hadn’t gained that much weight, which isn’t a surprise because she’s always been slender.  But she had more wrinkles than she should have at the tender age of 30.  Her eyes looked tired and old.  And her smile, which I remember not as radiant but simply happy, was dull.   Looking at her picture, I wondered: Do we all look that old?  Or has something happened to her that left her worn-down and weary? 

My 30th birthday is coming up this summer.  Marshall just had his.  Apparently it’s a big deal.  I’m just not sure why.  I guess in the past 30 was mid-life.  Not so much anymore.  For most of us, at least.  I’m also aware that I’m married and I have kids.  Many of my friends aren’t married and don’t have kids.  They want both of those things.  And I think that, for whatever reason, 30 seems like a deadline they missed or are about to miss.  (I don’t agree, by the way.)

Apparently a lot of people make “To Do Before 30” lists.  Google it if you don’t believe me.  There’s even a book devoted to it.  Scanning other “30 by 30” lists I found online, I seem to have a lot of these down:  married, kids, own a home, traveled to Europe, performed on stage, climbed a mountian(if the mountain at Camp Pinnicle counts!), made cookies from scratch, had plastic surgery(peaked your curiosity on that one, huh?), fired a gun, know how to fold a fitted sheet(thank you, Martha Stewart), take good pictures, sew on a button…

I however have not or cannot keep a plant alive for more than a year, parallel park worth a crap, published a book, learned HTML and CSS, owned a Wii(boo-hoo), or cleaned my house and kept it clean.

So…there is no list. (Maybe I’ll make a bucket list.  That movie was pretty good.)  But I do hope that by my 30th birthday I am happy(check) and I have made somebody else happy(check…I think!).  Of course it’d be nice to lose a little weight, but I have a feeling that may be on many other “To Do” lists for years to come.  🙂