My 30th Year in Review

Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to grow up?  Getting older meant more freedom, and exciting new things.  Then one day that changes.  You start hoping time will slow down and the Birthdays keep coming faster and faster each year.   That's what today 31 feels like.  I blinked, and a year went by,  but then again a lot happened.

The biggest development was of course my baby daughter.  She came just over a month after I turned 30.  It's hard to believe it's already been that long.  All the cliche's about parenting are true.  I hate to admit it.  They do grow up too fast.  Time does fly.  It's the hardest job in the world yet the most rewarding. Which brings me to the next point.

Having two kids is way harder than having one.

Zach, who is 6 now, is one heck of a good kid.  He has his days, but he's pretty darn good.  That helps but man, you throw a baby into the mix and he is thrown way off.  He loves his little sister and thinks the world of her.  But it just kinda threw him off.  We expected it; for him to act a little different, and want more attention. However it was also simple thinks like forgetting to flush the toilet again and forgetting to close car doors.   Strange stuff happened for a while there, but I think he's adjusted.  I think a lot of other families can relate.

It was the sickest year that I can remember.

Our house got hit BAD.  God, please don't allow this to happen again this year.  We had the stomach bug in our house (vomit everywhere!), we had multiple colds, I got bronchitis, and a bacterial sinus infection in APRIL, and it was never ending.  We'd get healthy, BAM! Another strain hit.  This was one of the hardest periods in my life.  I remember telling my wife that if I got sick again I was going to shoot myself in the head.  And I don't know how much of that was me actually joking.

I tried some new things, and one of the biggest was archery.  It's been fun and I really enjoy it.  Trying new things I think helps time slow down a little bit.  So here's to trying more new things in the next year of my life.

Fishing wasn't the best.  Most of my luck was at the tail end of 29.  Also I found it hard to find time, but it's ok.  I'll get that time back once the kids grow up.

Personally I've tried to grow more.  I've tried to self improve, but I'm finding that I usually only improve after the necessity to do so.  I've learned to be more patient.  (My wife may disagree.)  The reason I'm more patient is because I have no choice.  It doesn't matter how antsy or crabby I get when my family is taking 5 times as long as I'd like to get out the door.  It'll just make things worse.  So suck it up and let it go.

I'm living healthier in the last year.  Notice I said "healthier," not healthy.  I'm working on it.  I've exercised pretty regularly through the last year, but thanks to hitting 30, my metabolism didn't exactly help me out.

So to wrap this up, the last year was pretty crazy.  There were ups and downs.  Challenges I never would have wanted to see coming, and happiness too.  Having family and friends like I do make each birthday easier to digest.  Here's to 31.