29. Not as traumatic as some made me believe. Not like turning 20. 20 sucked. No longer a teenager. Not quite an adult. 20 was limbo. Younger kids saw you as an adult. Older kids saw you as a kid. 20 sucked. 29 has the whole stigma of being THE FINAL YEAR – THE END. The final year for what? To be irresponsible? To go skydiving? To travel around the world? You can do all those things after you turn 30, right? I remember being a kid and seeing my oldest cousin who was 20 at the time. College guy. Real old. Real mature. Big. Strong. Old. I look at 20 year olds now and chuckle to myself. I really thought a 20 year old was mature? Old? This past decade has brought me a college degree. A marriage. Several great friends. A great career (after several not-so-great ones). A daughter.

Ahem… A DAUGHTER!!!

So what now? Do I take the advice of friends and do as much as I can this year? Cram in all the crazy, fun and wild stuff that I’ll be too old and feeble to do once I hit my 30th birthday? What does that do to my psyche? What will that make my 30th birthday look like to me? THE END. GOOD NIGHT. NOTHING LEFT TO SEE HERE. MOVE ALONG. No, I think I’d much rather spend this next year planning all the great stuff I’m going to accomplish in my 30s.

My 30s will bring me through Erin’s childhood – 1st day of school – maybe sports – maybe 1st boyfriend(umm..no.). I’ll see my 10th and 15th wedding anniversaries in my 30s – how could celebrating marital milestones with my beautiful wife be bad?

From where I sit, the 30s are looking pretty good. Bring it on.