His and Hers: Turning 30
His and Hers is a weekly discussion of a question or topic relating to marriage. On Friday, my wife and I each write our thoughts on the week's topic. I invite others to do the same with their spouses as an exercise in celebrating marriage. This week's question is:
How did you feel about turning 30?
Mrs. Happy's response
Turning thirty has been bittersweet for me, as it seems to have caused everyone around me (and me) to reflect on the brilliance and preciousness of my youth, while simultaneously catapulting me into adulthood, where I will "finally be taken seriously," and "become real." Sometimes I think I'd rather be that care-free little girl with wispy hair in overalls gazing into the camera than the responsible fine-haired woman in cargo pants staring back at her. Then again, there are certainly benefits that come with this age, and I can still be silly and playful… and cargo pants are cool! I'm just a little homesick and longing for the security and comfort that I enjoyed as a child without even realizing it. Now I enjoy a different (but somehow similar) comfort and security with my happy husband, as he appreciates me so unconditionally, even when I don't act my age. And whenever I'm with him, that's when I am truly home.
Curt's response
When I turned 30 (a little over two years ago), I felt pretty good about it. So far, the only birthdays that have depressed me have been in doldrum years, years in which my life was stuck and going nowhere. Thirty wasn't like that for me. I looked back on the last year of my life and saw that it was good, that I had grown in knowledge and in physical health, and in favor with God and men. Since it was a nice round number, I also looked back on the previous decade and saw how far I had come from being a college flunk-out and bottom-rung-of-the-ladder worker at a door factory at the age of 20. Yeah, 30 was good. I expect 40 to be even better.
