Tomorrow is a special day in our household, it’s my 30^th birthday! I have a feeling I will be a little M.I.A this weekend so please bear with me.

This day has been creeping up on me for quite some time and to be honest I’ve been dreading it. All I could think about is where to my 20’s go!? Looking back so much has happened between 20 and 29.

• I graduated college
• Started my first full time job
• Studied and passed my securities license exams
• Move to Pennsylvania
• Started another new job
• Got married
• Moved into our first home together
• Adopted our first dog
• Lost my job
• My husband graduated medical school
• Moved to Virginia
• Started another new job
• Adopted another kitten
• Moved into our first “house” together
• My husband started his residency
• Qualified for the Boston Marathon
• Ran 5 marathons all together

I could go on and on, but that is just a glimpse of some of the great highs and lows of the last 9 years. They haven’t all been easy, but they aren’t expected to be right?

As of tomorrow, I will be entering the next decade of my life. It’s scary to leave the past behind but it’s also excited to see what the next 10 years will bring. My husband and I have some huge goals to accomplish in the coming year and that in itself in beyond exciting. I’m blessed to have such a supportive partner and best friend to go through this crazy life with.

 

That being said, here are a few things I want to focus on in my 30’s that I fell short of in my 20’s:

Slow Down and Enjoy the Moments

It sounds cheesy yet, but so much of my 20’s were spent stressed over where we were going, what we were doing, work, finances, etc. that I often failed to miss the special moments that were going by me each and every day.

This goes for running to. I strive to improve in my running tremendously over the next few years but I want to do it in a much more laid back and relaxed approach. I want to truly enjoy each run and moments, even the hard ones, instead of rushing along.

 

Really PLAN our Future

One of the tough things about having a husband in medical school is that everything always feels very temporary. We have lived in 3-4 different places over the last 7-8 years and we’ve always know the places were temporary.

In another year or so we will finally be able to plan the rest of our lives. We will get to choose where to settle permanently, where to raise our family, and where to spend a majority of the rest of our lives. It’s exciting and scary all at the same time, but something I look forward to very much.

 

Travel More

We have had a few wonderful vacations in the past 10 years, but due to work and school it’s been hard to really get that many places. I’d love to find ways to visit new places in my 30’s. I want to branch out and explore more of the world around me.

Hopefully in the next 10 years, our schedules will allow this more. If not, it is definitely something I want to make a priority in the next 20.

 

Spend More Time with Family

The past 7 years have been filled with lots of crazy schedules. Between living 10 hours away from family and then my husband having crazy work schedules, it often is hard to find time to go visit our family. As his schedule settles down over the next year I really look forward to taking more opportunities to do things with those that we love the most.

 

Expand My Running

I love the marathon. I do. However, aside from having some pretty big marathon goals in my 30’s I also want to expand into different areas. I’d love to train and race 5k’s and 10k’s a bit more, something I really didn’t do enough of in the past years.

I’d also love to explore more trail and ultra-running. One of my dear friends has been talking to me more about this lately, and my interest has been peaked! I don’t know when, or how, this will happen but it is a goal of mine in the next several years!

 

Even though I used to dread 30, and it’s still a bit hard for me to wrap my head around, I am excited about all that is ahead of me! For us, a lot of our lives are really settling down and come to in our 30’s. It’s one of the downsides of investing so many years into the medical school journey, but also one that I look forward to greatly.

Changing my attitude has been really amazing these past couple weeks, and I look forward to seeing what the next 10 years will hold!

Today I choose to celebrate the past 10 and look forward to what is to come!

 

Do you set goals for yourself each year?

What are you up to this weekend?